


Witch Hunt

by Bladesilverred



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst, Angst and Feels, Blue is a ghost, Character Turned Into a Ghost, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gay, Gay Panic, Heavy Angst, Human AU, Injury, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Mixed Martial Arts, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, White is a witch, Witch Curses, Witch Hunters, Witchcraft, Yellow is a human, Yellow is still a badass, because why not, it's gonna get real gay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-01-29 13:30:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 31,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21410965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bladesilverred/pseuds/Bladesilverred
Summary: Another AU.You'll find out more as the story progresses, and there are more characters coming up. I will update this as we go, but here's the important things so far:Azurea (Blue) is a ghost/spirit.Keltä (Yellow) owns a mixed martial arts studio.Rozalia (Pink) was Blue's younger sister.White is a witch.Starlight is the witch's daughter.Yellow Pearl and Jasper are Keltä's best friends.Connie is Keltä's older sister.
Relationships: Blue Diamond/Yellow Diamond (Steven Universe)
Comments: 100
Kudos: 127





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter is Blue's backstory for my new AU.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blue's backstory.

_“Rozalia? Roz..PINK!! Come on, you have to stay awake! Just until the healer comes. Please…” A sobbing figure stands over a small curled up body, laying amidst a nest of cushions, carefully arranged around her. _

_The girl unfurls herself to look up at the crying woman above her. “Azurea...there’s nothing she can do...it’s too late.”_

_The woman, her long black hair hanging forming a silky curtain around her sways as she sobs. “No no no...you can’t leave me...you can’t!”_

_A small half smile comes across the weak child’s face. “I love you.”_

_As the life fades away from the pale face, a piercing scream fills the small hut, loud enough to be heard across the village. _

_The woman collapses in a heap, her hand clutching her now dead sister’s. Still sobbing, she manages to choke out, “No...I won’t let this happen...I will bring you back...I have to bring you back.”_

_Filled with fierce determination, Azurea staggers to her feet, running out of the hut. She runs as fast as her grieving heart would allow, her chest still heaving with sobs. Sprinting through the small village, she enters the thick forest just beyond the village grounds. The forest, a source of many gruesome tales, doesn’t stop her resolute mind. It was dangerous, filled with monsters and magic, but she was looking for sorcery. _

_The thick brush obscured all light that would be shining down from the full moon. Racing blindly through the forest, Azurea thinks wildly to the stories told by her elders. Since she was a child, she had heard tales of the savage creatures waiting within. She remembers hearing about a woman, a witch that could bring back the dead. The witch appeared, only when the seeker was desperate enough to pay the price of such a deed. _

_Azurea trips and falls to the ground. Her once beautiful dress, midnight blue with flowing sleeves had been ripped to shreds. Tattered pieces splayed around her, as if they were petals of a giant flower. _

_“Please...please,” she whispers her voice tight. She buries her head in her arms, chanting the word over and over. _

_After several minutes, the area flashes bright, leaving a soft glow behind. Azurea looks up to find a hut made of rotting wood, with gaping cracks The door, slightly ajar, was made of branches tapered into spears, was held together by twine. _

_The still crying woman pushes herself to her feet. Her tears begin to dry as her eyes sweep around the glowing shanty. Fear begins to replace her grief, weakening her resolution. But the thought of her sister, growing cold in their small hut, gives her the strength to walk up to the hut. _

_Without hesitating, she pushes the door open, stooping down to enter the candlelit room. A large shelf in the middle of the room takes up most of the space. Containers of various sizes were placed on it, seemingly without order. Before it, was a small table with a single chair, made up of spindly branches. Atop the table lay a small clay bowl and plate._

_Azurea looks around. Frowning when she fails to see the infamous witch, she begins to walk behind the shelf._

_“No,” comes a commanding voice from somewhere. _

_The frightened woman come to a halt, her head whipping around to find the source of the voice. _

_A figure emerges. A woman, with short brilliant white hair that stuck up as if the owner was zapped with lightning, walked slowly towards the Azurea’s cowering form. _

_Azurea’s deep blue eyes take in the sight in front of her. What she assumes is the witch was skeletal, her white dress hanging loosely from her frame. Her thin arms are bent, as she holds a small object in her boney hand. Her fingers that wrap around a small bottle, have long, talon-like nails. _

_She shudders as she brings her gaze to the witch’s gaunt face. Her eyes, rimmed with coal, are wide and menacing, her pupils glowing white. Her grey papery skin seems to be stretched over her cheekbones, but has deep wrinkles around her thin mouth. _

_“You’re here for your sister.” The old woman continues forward, stopping just in front of the visitor, wagging the vial in front of her youthful face. _

_With fierce eyes, Azurea begins to speak “I’ll do any—” _

_“Anything for your sister’s life. I know. You will pay the price,” interrupts the witch._

_Heart beating loud in her chest, Azurea closes her mouth, waiting for the other to continue. _

_The witch begins to circle her, cold fingers drag across her supple skin, through her black hair, before landing under her chin. Pointed nails dig into her face as hex examines it. _

_After what feels like a lifetime, the witch speaks again. “Yes, I will bring back your sister, but in return, you will give me your physical form. Once this potion passes your sister’s lips, your body will be mine. You will be damned to roam the world, stuck in the middle of life and death, never to be heard, but always to watch.”_

_Tears begin to make rivers down Azurea’s cheeks. “Yes, yes I’d do it. Just, please, bring Rozalia back.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm **really** excited about this project! I've always thought that Blue looks a bit more alien/otherworldly than the other gems, so here we are. Ghost Blue!
> 
> *Yellow's backstory is up next!*


	2. Moving In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow (Keltä) moves into her new apartment.

“Hey, Yellow! We just put the last box in the kitchen. It looks like you’re all good to go. Are you sure you don’t need any help unpacking? We’re happy to help!” Pearl calls from the front door. Her thin frame was leaning against the doorway, her short pastel yellow hair damp with sweat. Her shirt, sharing the same color as her hair, was beginning to stick to her back. The large, sheer ruffles around her sleeve were speckled with dust. 

“No, it’s okay! I got it. You guys have done enough today,” Yellow yells back. Her own frame, also slender but more muscular, strains as she carries a box through the small apartment. “Wanna come in for a quick drink?”

“Hell yeah,” comes a gravelly voice. Jasper, a burly woman steps around the skinny girl in the doorway. Her thick, bleached white hair reaches the small of her back. Unlike the Pearl, she looks completely energized, as if moving the boxes was just a warmup for the real challenge. 

Yellow pops out from the bedroom. She walks to the old fridge in the kitchen, grabbing three cans of beer. She tosses one to Jasper, who catches it with a grin, and hands one over to Pearl. 

“Sorry there’s only two chairs in here…” she says wryly, “it’s not exactly high living. But I guess you guys already knew that.”

“I think it’s nice!” Pearl responds quickly, bouncing in her ballet flats. 

Yellow just laughs. “You’re always so optimistic. I appreciate that. It’s a good contrast to those of us with quick tempers, right Jasper?”

The large woman elbows Yellow, “What are you trying to say, General?”

“Come on, I told you to stop calling me that! Martial arts is nothing like military. It’s much more peaceful, fight only when provoked type thing. Or at least that’s what my Sensei taught me,” the blonde corrected, but her tone stayed light.

“Let’s not fight, you are both strong and powerful,” Pearl says nervously. 

The two women share a glance before clapping each other on the back. “Pearl, you’re overreacting. We don’t beat people up anymore, eh Yellow?”

The blonde flashes a glare. “We didn’t beat people up! It was just...oh never mind. The past is the past.”

Pearl quickly changes the subject, knowing this was a touchy part of her friend’s past. “Why don’t we hear about your new studio?”

Yellow’s eyes begin to glow as she begins to detail her plans. The group falls into a relaxed chatter.

… 

“Let us know if you need anything, okay Yellow? We’re just a call away! You have your new cell phone, and our numbers, right?” Pearl asks, lingering in the doorway. Jasper was already at the car.

“Yes, Pearl. You double checked that. Besides, it’s not like I’m moving across the galaxy, I’m just moving cities. It’s not even a 30 minute drive!” Yellow says, rolling her eyes. 

“Alright, well just call if you need anything.”

“Will do.” Yellow waves them off and closes the door.

She surveys her now empty apartment. It was simple, just one small kitchen with a table, a tiny bedroom, and a bathroom. A few boxes were scattered around.

She moves to her bedroom, to begin unpacking some of the boxes. Yellow didn’t have many things, so it wouldn’t take more than an hour or two. She rummages through the box, looking for her most prized possession. A black picture frame of her and her family, Yellow garbed in her white gi, the day she got her black belt.

...

This was her first time living alone, having spent most of her life with her family. They had grown up dirt poor, her parents struggled every week to put enough food on the table for her and her older sister, Connie. 

Connie had always been scholarly. She spent all her time in the library, reading. She aced all her tests, earning perfect grades. Yellow had earned good grades as well, but her sister was always more studious. To Yellow, her family was more important, school and everything else came second. She wanted her sister to have a chance to get out, to go to college and get a job. 

But, seeing her parents go hungry so that their children could eat broke her heart. As a child, she resolved to do what she could to help out. As soon as she turned 12, she tried to find a job. Babysitting, paper delivering, anything. But no one wanted to hire a little girl from the bad part of town. 

So, she turned to more nefarious ways. 

There were underground fights. The fighters could make money from bets and Yellow could fight. She’d always been strong, but her first match was won by luck. Her opponent threw her over his shoulder, confident that he could beat the scrappy blonde. As he was staggering back in triumph, he tripped over her fallen body, giving her the opening to pull him into a chokehold. 

After that, she trained tirelessly to be a formidable opponent. Her body was thin and sinewy from years of fighting, and her reflexes sharp, able to predict her opponents every move. She was famous in the underground circles, the girl who could best a foe more than three times her size. 

Her real name was Keltä, but everyone had fight aliases and she was no different. Yellow Diamond. Yellow because of her blonde hair and amber eyes, Diamond because she was hard as the precious gemstone and just as valuable to the people who bet on her.

But a life of illegal fighting wasn’t easy. The rougher fights left her black and blue and she often came home with bloodstained clothes. Often times, she would awake the next morning confined to her mattress on the floor by painful aching muscles. 

Yellow’s family hated her involvement in this violence. Although they desperately needed the money, seeing their daughter and younger sister in this state brought on more than one fight. Her parents forbid her from fighting, but she snuck out anyway. “For the good of the family,” she would tell herself. 

These underground fights were where Yellow met Jasper. They had only fought once, but it was the most anticipated fight for months. She managed to best Jasper, but only by a hair. Jasper was much bigger and stronger, and although Yellow was slightly taller, the other woman was about twice her size. Still, her thinner build made her more limber, and she used Jasper’s size against her. This match was one of Yellow’s most memorable; she remembered it clearly, amidst hundreds of other blurry fight memories.

It wasn’t until she was 16, when she met a special boy named Steven that she began to reconsider her life. Steven, 10 years old at the time, had stumbled into her one morning. She was bloodied from a particularly rough fight, dark stains on her clothes. Under her eyes were deep lines from exhaustion, she had spent 5 hours after the fight ended working up the energy to move her screaming body from the ring. 

He had asked her if she was okay, rushing to pull out a bandaid from his backpack. A useless gesture; she would need more than a bandaid, but sweet nonetheless. She tried to dodge his probing questions, but he eventually got the truth out of her. She was a fighter in an underground fighting ring. He had asked why she did it, what her family said when she had come home injured. 

At first, she tried to reason with him. She had to do this, for her family, because everyone depended on her. But Steven had a way with words. He had come from poverty, just like her. No mother, but three older sisters and a father to take care of him. They struggled, but love was the binding force, bringing them all together. His family was fiercely protective of him, just like Yellow was of her family. She admitted that her family hated to see her like this, hated the fights she would attend.

Even now, ten years later, she could hear his words echo in her mind.

“Why do you do this, if it makes you miserable? If it hurts the very ones you’re trying to protect?”

Yellow had cried that day. For the first time since she was a baby, moved with the realization that she was damaging her family more than poverty could. 

And she changed. It was a hard change. At first, she felt lost, having stopped the biggest part of her life, her purpose and sense of pride. But when she stopped going to fights, she found a mixed martial arts studio. Her past gave her an advantage, but she had a lot to learn. She learned to channel her anger and her fears into discipline. She trained hard, wanting to be perfect. Five days a week, she went to the mixed martial arts dojo, and the other two days, she trained at home. Her Sensei, in an effort to prevent kids from fighting on the streets, let them join for free. 

Five years later, she earned her black belt. Her parents cried, her sister cried, and Yellow was filled with a sense of pride, having finally found her place in the world again. 

…

Two hours later, Yellow places the final dish in her cupboard. Everything was unpacked, and she could finally relax. She flops on her bed, her face turned to her nightstand, a small black table that held the picture frame. She looked at the happy faces of her family, and down to her hands, resting on the black belt around her waist.

Smiling, she turns around, on her back. She looks at the white ceiling, her mind filled with peace. Tomorrow she would go to see the building she was going to rent for her own dojo. She was finally making her way in the world. No more of the retail jobs she took once she graduated high school. No, she finally had enough money to achieve her dreams. And, she would send every penny she didn’t need for her food or bills to her family. 

Sighing happily, she checks the time on her phone. 9:14. Too early to sleep. 

Yellow sits up, grabbing the remote next to her phone. The previous tenants had left behind a TV, and although it only had three channels, she had never had anything like it before. 

She flips the TV on. A man dressed in a suit stands before a screen displaying a colorful map of the world. _This must be the famous ‘weather report’ I’ve always heard about,_ she thinks to herself.

Rolling onto her stomach, she rests her chin on hands on her hands and begins to watch.

…

Another hour later and Yellow is dozing off. Her body was tired, stress from the move finally kicking in.

But the TV doesn’t let her rest, suddenly blaring with a woman shouting about insurance. Yellow awakes with a start.

“Damn, these advertisements are a nuisance!” she cries, annoyed. The insurance lady carries on.

“You look like you’re going to murder me in your sleep,” Yellow mutters. 

||_hehe, that’s probably why she sells insurance!_||

The blonde jerks up, her head spinning around wildly. The room was empty.

She lays back down, turning off the TV. Shifting the covers on top of her body, she curls up and closes her eyes.

_I’m probably just tired,_ she thinks before drifting off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I'd love to hear your thoughts!
> 
> The next chapter will be out in a few days.


	3. Dojo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow begins her new life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is really wholesome. I hope you enjoy!

Yellow awoke with a start. Monday. 6:45.

It was time, it was finally time.

After years of planning, she was finally going to open her own martial arts studio. It had been her dream to pass on her experiences, using them to help others find themselves. And it was finally coming true. 

She knew her teaching styles would be unconventional. She had trained long and hard to obtain her black belt, and she intended on keeping the physical part front and center. But should would never abandon the other teachings she had learned. Yellow wanted to give people, no matter if it was kids or adults, the chance to learn about patience, about perseverance, about respect. 

Swinging her feet out of the bed, she walks to her small closet. It’s mostly filled with jeans and button down shirts; Yellow had never been one for girly clothes. 

Since she was feeling good, and because today was a big day, she picks out her favorite outfit. Mustard yellow corduroy pants, a white dress shirt, and a light jean jacket. 

||_You look cute._||

She stares at her reflection, dressed smartly with a terrible case of bedhead. _If I want to look good, I need to do something about my hair,_ she thinks as her lips curl up, _but I’m not trying to look ‘cute’._

After one last glance at the mirror, she headed to the bathroom to fix her tousled blonde locks and apply her make up. 

Yellow’s signature look, short blonde hair spiked up with gel, sharp pointed eyeliner that extended just past her eye, was completed in a matter of minutes. She flashed a grin at herself. 

_Now I look sharp!_

…

Standing in front of her new studio was an unreal feeling. Glass windows made up the whole storefront, so Yellow could see all the way through to the bamboo divider. Rectangles of light shone on the off white padded floors and the light orange walls. 

Yellow unlocks the door, stepping in. It smells musty, with a hint of paint. She breathes in, relishing in the new scent. 

She hangs up a poster in the window, welcoming her students. Then, she puts another, larger poster next to it, listing the classes she will offer. A small bell goes around the door handle. 

Moving to the back, she steps behind the bamboo divider that creates a small room. Inside, there is a desk and a rack full of white gis in different sizes. She runs a finger through them, thinking about the people who will wear them. Underneath the rack is a box with belts of different colors. She smiles at them, neatly folded up. 

Then, she stands and changes into her own gi. As she’s tying her black belt around her waist, she hears a jingle. Her first students begin to trickle in. She rushes out to welcome them, greeting each one by name. Yellow had done some research, setting up a website for people to join online. Two classes had already been filled, both took place twice a week, two hours each session. 

The first class feels so short. After handing out gis and white belts, she begins to lead them in simple exercises. This is her beginner class with mixed ages, as she did not yet have enough participants to divide adults and children. 

Yellow’s second lesson feels longer, these are the intermediate students. Most are older, from teens to adults. Her eyes glow as she teaches, her body stretching comfortably as she guides the class through the different positions. She’s in her element. 

…

After the last person has left the dojo, Yellow begins to clean up. Her first class was a huge success. Some parents of her the smaller kids had promised to tell their friends about her classes. Everything was falling into place. 

It’s only a 15 minute walk to her apartment. The blonde walks slowly, savouring the gentle wind that ruffles her short hair. Her duffel bag bumps at her hip as she walks, filled with her gi and some paperwork for her to fill out. It’s evening, and the sun is beginning to sink. 

She had spent a few hours after her classes working on her website, looking through registration forms and posting pictures of her new students. The only she was having trouble with was her budget. Money had always been tight, so she was used to living on next to nothing. But she needed to complete some calculations so that she knew if everything would work out. Her swimming head told her to take a break, so she brought the papers home with her, hoping a good meal would revive her.

She unlocks her apartment, stepping in with a sigh. In Yellow’s parents’ house, there was always someone home. Her parents made sure of that. Her mom worked night shifts so that she could be there when her husband was away. And her father was always there in the evening when her mother went to work. And there was her sister, always in her room studying. But she would always make time to talk to Yellow if she needed something. 

Even her best friends, Pearl and Jasper, would always be there. Yellow looks at the picture hanging above her small dining table. It was a picture that Pearl’s friend had drawn for her. The small woman was standing on her toes, wearing pointe shoes, her left hand bent behind her head and her right stuck out. She sometimes modelled, just as a side gig. Yellow remembers her smug smile when Pearl had hung the picture up. “You’ll need a reminder of what I look like, so you won’t forget me,” she had said.

Right next to Pearl, was a picture of her and Jasper. They were arm wrestling. Jasper’s thick white hair hung in her face as she stared into Yellow’s eyes. The blonde looked back, just as fierce, her thinner arms bulging with under the strain. Yellow doesn’t remember who won that time; they often wrestled with each other. 

Below the pictures of her friends, was one of her family. It was Connie’s high school graduation. Everyone had worn their best clothes, which weren’t very nice, but they were all beaming with pride. Connie was the valedictorian, and she had her diploma held out in front of her. 

She smiles forlornly at the photos and begins to cook dinner. Nothing special, just rice with black beans, carbs and protein to feed her active lifestyle while also being a cheap option. She brings her paperwork out to finish her budgeting. 

After several frustrated groans, one crumpled paper thrown at the wall, and multiple punches at the air, a very smudgy paper lay in front of her. She was finished. There wouldn’t be any room for any extra expenses unless she was able to teach more classes, but she would survive with what she earned now. Yellow stares at the paper before her, double checking.

||_You still need to eat._||

Glancing at the black smudge next to the line for ‘eating’, the blonde groans. “You’re right, I forgot to subtract money for food,” she says out loud. 

||_Rent is 40 dollars too much._||

“Right again! And 40 dollars is more than enough for a month of food,” she says, erasing the numbers once more. Just as she’s smiling down at the paper again, she realizes something.

The blonde looks around the room. “Wait, what? Is someone there?”

But the voice is silent. 

Yellow sighs as she gets up to clean her dishes. This happened sometimes. Voices would speak to her, saying one or two lines before staying silent forever. Most of the time, the voices didn’t make sense, just some errant comment about something. One had moaned about someone named Lisa. A haughty voice once monologued about a theatre piece. Another had spoken about the war. That one was hard to listen to, and Yellow had thought about the gravelly voice for weeks. 

This was when Yellow found out she couldn’t contact the voices back. She assumed they were spirits, or ghosts. After doing some research at the library one day, she was excited to try various methods of contacting the ghosts she heard. She wanted to contact the man who spoke about war, to lighten his heavy soul. But she couldn’t. In a few weeks, she gave up, accepting that she might be an earpiece without a voice. 

But this voice was different. It talked to her, as if the owner was paying attention, helping her. Almost as if it was aware of her…

Yellow shakes her head. This voice would be gone in a few days, just like all the others. Maybe it had helped her as a last good deed before passing into the afterlife. She could be grateful for the tip, but shouldn’t expect to hear back from the lady again. 

_Although,_ Yellow thinks, _her voice was strangely soothing. Lilting, smokey, and low, with a slight accent that I can’t quite place. And she sounded young, unlike the other voices I’ve heard._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be about ghost Blue.


	4. Seen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a chapter of Blue doin' her ghost thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some Blue/Yellow interaction!

||_You still need to eat._||

There was a dark grey smudge next to the line labeled ‘eating’. Azurea didn’t think that Keltä noticed that no number was added. 

And the blonde’s groan was confirmation of her thoughts. 

“You’re right, I forgot to subtract money for food.”

Azurea had been watching Keltä, or Yellow, as her friends had called her, as she worked for almost an hour. She had already memorized the expenses scrawled across the paper. She didn’t normally like watching such boring things, but this woman seemed interesting. Certainly very dashing, but that was irrelevant. 

Yellow seemed to speak aloud as she worked, so she could hear everything that was going through her head.

||_Rent is 40 dollars too much._|| 

“Right again! And 40 dollars is more than enough for a month of food.” 

_She hasn’t noticed I’m speaking to her,_ Azurea thinks.

It wasn’t uncommon. Although not many people could hear her, those that did often thought her words were their own thoughts. She tried to be helpful most of the time, giving little reminders or small compliments. Watching the world for centuries had made her realize that some kind words went a long way in making someone’s day. And she had always been one for helping others. 

“Wait, what? Is someone there?”

_Hm, she does know it’s me._ Azurea smiles, giving the blonde a thumbs up she couldn’t see. The phantom liked to use silly gestures she’d picked up from other tenants. And a little boy down the hall always used this particular hand signal. 

Azurea watches as Yellow begins to clean up for the day. But this was rather boring, so she decides to check on the building’s other tenants. 

She knew them all by heart. There was Ms. Matterson, the lady who owned four cats. She often complimented the older woman who was always delighted to hear her voice. Although, Azurea didn’t think that the elder lady knew it was her. Perhaps just a figment of her imagination.

Then there was the Peterson family. The mother was a doctor and the father was a lawyer, so they often had babysitters for the twin boys. They were always fun to watch. The two children were only 3, the perfect age for Azurea to speak to. Children seemed to be more perceptive of her presence than adults. One of the boys in particular was especially apt to talk to her. Tyler. He called her ‘the whispering lady’. A smile tugs on her long face. He was sweet.

She goes to the family’s door, walking along the carpeted rug, but her footsteps make no sound. They left no trace on the rug either. Since the night she denounced her body to the witch, she could no longer interact with the physical world. She was an observer. At first, it was fun to see the lives of those around her. In the village she grew up in, the people were very open and honest. Or so she thought. After just a week of floating in and out of huts, she discovered hidden secrets. Affairs, stashed food supplies, stolen items. Back then, it had made her want to scream. She wanted to go to the elders, tell them what was transpiring, right the numerous wrongs. But she couldn’t. Azurea wasn’t able to talk to anyone back then. Or maybe no one wanted to listen. 

She shakes her head, causing her long hair to flow around her. There was no use dwelling on the past. Her village was long gone, taken out hundreds of years ago by a deadly plague. Huts stood empty for decades before brush overtook the grounds. Then, there was only green. Azurea had sat in the grass for years, just watching the animals and the plants grow and die. 

The physical world eluded her, she could no longer touch the things around her than they could her. She liked to braid her hair, it was something she could touch, something with substance. Practicing intricate braids gave her something to do as she watched. Her once dark brown hair had lightened through the years, until it settled on a silvery white. When it was loose, it hung around her like a cloud, thick and long, past her waist. Azurea had decided she liked her new silvery hair. It made her look ghostly.

It also gave her an older appearance, contrasting the rest of her face, which was youthful from only 24 years of life. Most of the other ghosts she saw were older, having died of old age. 

Just as with the living, she could not interact with the dead. They often spoke to each other, sometimes chatting among themselves about their deaths before disappearing. Azurea had always thought herself more dead than alive, but she was not dead, not really. Only caught between worlds, her body being used by the witch. She often found herself wondering what the old woman had used her body for. If it was still young, or if it too had succumbed to the poison of time.

Slowly, she comes to a stop before the door labeled “Peterson”. She walks through the door to an empty apartment. Sighing, she turns, going to find another one of the tenants. Hopefully one of them would be doing something interesting.

…

“Just...call them...text them...anything. Say...you’re bored...upset...lonely.” Yellow grunted, her words interrupted by hits to the punching bag before her. 

Azurea was laying on the ground, on her stomach with her chin resting on her hands. She was watching the blonde before her training. After a while, she decided to say something. 

||_Just call them. I’m sure they’ll be happy to hear from you._||

Yellow halts as she calls across the room, her hands still raised for a punch. “Don’t you think they’ll think I’m lame?”

The spirit cocks her head. Yellow was speaking directly to her. She had even turned her head slightly so that her amber eyes seemed to stare right through her.

||_No. Pearl said you could call anytime, remember?_||

Yellow wipes her forehead with her arm, her normally spiky hair limp with sweat. Her face, red from exertion, grows a shade darker. “You’re right. I’m just ashamed. To be lonely.”

Azurea’s eyes widen. This she could understand. She had been lonely for centuries. Not that she could say as much to a living being that probably thought she was just a figment of her imagination. So, she stayed silent. 

She watches Yellow sigh and begin to unwrap the tape from her hands. “I’m surprised you haven’t left yet. Normally ghosts are gone after a day or two. The afterlife and all that.”

Tears begin to drip down the phantom’s face. The young woman was addressing her. Directly to her, still looking at the corner where she lay. She pushes herself to a sitting position.

||_You can hear me?_||

She asks before cringing. _Of course she can hear you, you idiot,_ she chastises herself.

Yellow’s words echo her thoughts. “Yes, I can,” she says flashing a grin towards her. 

Azurea slowly gets to her feet, taking a few steps towards the blonde. Her mind races, trying to think of the right words. She hasn’t had a conversation in...centuries. 

||_Hello._||

This earns her a short laugh. “Hey,” Yellow says, “You got a name, ghost? I don’t want to keep calling you ‘ghost’. It feels rude, you know?”

||_Azurea._||

Yellow’s eyes widen slightly. “That’s an interesting name. It sounds old timey. Well, it’s nice to meet you Azurea.”

The invisible girl stands, shocked. Her hands hang stiffly by her side, her gaze locked on Yellow’s face. Tears are falling faster and faster, and she has to choke back a sob. _I haven’t heard my name since Rozalia..._

“Not that it’s really the first time we’ve spoken,” Yellow continues, “You say funny things sometimes. Like that one time, when I was watching a dog video, and you said the owner looked just like his dog.”

Sobs take over Azurea’s body. Her chest heaves as she falls to the ground, her hands clutching her face in agony. She wants desperately to stop crying, to talk to this strange woman who could hear ghosts. 

“Are you...crying? Are you okay? I’m really sorry, I’m just not used to ghosts talking back.” Yellow’s face was soft, her pale, angular features smoothing out in concern.

Azurea gets up, her footsteps quickening to carry her out of the room. She walks, her tears streaming through closed eyes, trailing behind her in droplets until they fade away. She walks towards Yellow, then through her. But just as she is able to phase through the closed door, she hears the blonde speak again.

“You have really pretty hair.”

She stiffens.

||_What?_||

Her voice comes out sharper than she intended, almost a hiss. 

Yellow jerks back her tone, her hands instinctively thrown up in fists. She had only caught a fleeting glimpse of the Azurea before the phantom disappeared back into the air. Her head whips around to search for the girl, her flaxen hair bouncing with each turn.

“Your hair. It’s nice, silvery and long. I think...I think it suits you,” her voice is unsure as she delivers the compliment.

Azure eyes fly open, tears still making rivers down her cheeks. Azurea’s body begins to take on a blue glow, as if it were radiating from her heaving chest. Questions swirl around her head. _Why did she talk back? Why is she still talking? How did she see me? And why my hair? Why does she think it’s pretty?_

||_I need to go._||

Her voice is whisper soft as she flees the room. 

In her wake, Yellow stands, her hands still up, looking around the room. She stares at the door, where she assumes the spirit had fled through. A few minutes pass before she lowers her arms and turns away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	5. Loneliness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azurea has a breakdown and Keltä takes a trip home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Azurea is pretty upset towards the end, so trigger warning for self-harm and suicidal thoughts. It's not very graphic, but just be careful if you're sensitive to these kinds of things.

As soon as Azurea fled Yellow’s apartment, regret flooded her mind. I should have stayed. She was the only one in my whole existence as a spirit that could speak to me. 

_I probably scared her away._

Tears were still streaming down her cheeks, but the strange blue light had faded. Azurea didn’t know where she was going. She didn’t even know why she left. Maybe she was scared of direct speech, after centuries of being looked through. 

Azurea stops, her bare feet still underneath her. _I should go back._

She stands there for an eternity, thinking about the blonde and their conversation. Time didn’t hold the same meaning to her anymore. She stood, rooted in place, until her tears dried up and the phantoms of her heartbeat slowed. 

_I’ve scared her away._

_She’ll never want to talk to me again._

Finally, she shakes the thoughts out of her head, choosing to check up on the young man at the end of the hall. If she recalled correctly, he had had a date that evening. 

…

The conversation weighed heavily on Yellow’s mind. Never before had she been able to hold a conversation with a ghost. She was fairly certain Azurea was a ghost. 

_I hope I’m not just going crazy this time. So lonely, I’m talking to strange voices,_ she thinks to herself as she’s getting into bed. 

She turns the conversation over and over in her head, thinking about what happened and what it could mean. 

_She was so sweet. But I saw her. That’s new too. She doesn’t look like what I imagine ghosts to look like. She’s young, pretty even._

The image of Azurea still etched in her brain, she reaches to her phone on her nightstand. _I’ve got to tell Connie about this. She’ll be thrilled._

Her sister was the only one she’d ever told about the voices. Even though she was always busy studying, she had a love for fantasy, specifically the supernatural. Connie had always been jealous of Yellow, wishing it was her who heard the ghosts. 

_“Connie, you’ll never guess what happened. I heard another ghost, but she talked to me! I saw her too.”_

Her phone immediately pinged back.

_“OMG really? I’m SO coming over when finals are over!!”_

Yellow smiled. She would love the company, but finals were a few weeks away. Still, her sister’s enthusiasm for ghosts was adorable as always. 

She scrolls through her contacts, thinking about her sister brought back the crushing loneliness. With the ghost’s words in her head, she types up a message to Pearl.

_“Hey Pearl. I don’t have any classes this Friday, how about meeting up for lunch sometime?”_

Another immediate response.

_“Yellow! How are you? How is everything? Why didn’t you text sooner? And when the stars are you coming back to visit?”_

The blonde laughs. It was so like Pearl. But it gave her an idea.

_“Actually, I could come home this weekend. I’ll leave after my last lesson on Thursday. We can catch up then!”_

As she waited a few seconds for Pearl to respond, the idea began to warm her heart. It would be good to go home for a few days. 

_“Finally! It’s been long enough.”_

She smiles at the message before putting her phone down and laying back down. _It’s only been two weeks,_ she thinks. 

But she’s secretly grateful for the warm response. 

…

Azurea wandered the halls aimlessly for days. She didn’t step a foot in any of the apartments, just paced back and forth, lost in her own thoughts. 

She no longer had any interest in the lives of the building tenants. Her conversation with Yellow rekindled her longing for living interaction. Something she’d lost centuries ago. It was miserable. 

So she walked, tears often trailing behind her. Thinking about Yellow, thinking about her sister, about the witch.

Her mind often strayed to her sister. Rozalia, the most precious being in her life. She had been dying that fateful day, when she begged the old woman to bring her back. After she pledged her body away, the witch gave her a small vial. Inside was a potion that would revive her sister, but force her soul out of her body. 

After receiving the small bottle, she ran back to her village. Sprinted back through the huts, to the one where her sister lay. Shrouded in blankets, just as she had left her. Rozalia’s jovial face was flushed and dewy with sickness. Her eyelids lay half-closed, almost as if she wasn’t quite ready to go. But she was gone, her chest did not rise to fill her lungs with air, her body cooling as her heart did not beat to bring warm blood through her form. 

Seeing her beloved sister in this state almost broke her. Azurea had fallen to her knees in grief, nearly forgetting the lifegiving vial.

She took the small cork off with shaking hands, being careful not to spill any of the precious liquid. 

“Rozalia, I love you. I love you,” she had whispered as she opened her sister’s plump lips.

The liquid, clear as water, flowed out of the vial, glistening in the moonlight. After the final drop fell into the child’s mouth, Azurea felt herself slip away. 

Her sister sat up in the bed, groggy. “Azurea? Rea?” the child whispered. 

It was then the older woman let herself weep. She held onto the small hand in front of her, desperately, repeating three words over and over.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.”

Slowly, the small hand she was clutching faded away from her. Her hands slipped through them, her own form no longer having any substance. She watched her former body stand and walk mechanically out of the hut. She never saw it again. 

Her gaze was wrenched back to her Rozalia. The child was recovering her strength, calling her name louder. “Azurea? Where are you?”

How she longed to go to her. To hug her once more, to speak to her. But she had made a promise, and such things were not to be taken lightly. 

“I dreamt I died, Rea, and that you were here. And you saved me, but then you left. Why did you go?”

It was then her heart truly broke. She had fled, wanting to get away from her poor sister. She ran, to go back to the witch, to beg for her body back. But she stopped, right at the edge of the forest. She had no regrets. Her sister was alive and that was all that mattered. 

…

“Hey Mom, Dad! Connie?” Yellow calls as she steps through the door. Her parens’ house is small, just slightly bigger than her own apartment. 

“Yellow! Mom and Dad are both at work. They’ll be home in a while. How are you?” Her sister emerges from the bedroom they once shared. 

Connie’s appearance is the exact opposite of Yellow’s. Where Yellow has short blonde hair, Connie has long dark hair. Her features are soft, not angular, like the blonde’s. Atop her button nose, sit large circular glasses. And in her hand was a book.

“You’re still studying?” teases Yellow.

“Shut up!” Connie responds, “besides, it’s not even for school. When you told me about this ghost, I went to the library to check out books.”

“Alright, let me just put my stuff down. You didn’t completely take over our room did you?”

“Maybe!” 

The two share a look, and Yellow swats her sister with her duffle bag. 

After the blonde places her bag in their room, they settle at the dining table to pour over the book. 

“So tell me everything about this ghost. You said you could talk to her?” Connie’s eyes are full of stars as her brown eyes stare at the other woman.

“Yeah, well it was just like the others at first. She said a few things to me, but I just thought it was like the others,” Yellow begins.

Connie nods, having heard about the other ghosts Yellow has encountered.

“But then the other day, I was working out, and she talked to me, like directly to me. Which was strange, but she was strange in general. I just thought maybe she was a really troubled ghost? Maybe stuck with some unfinished business?”

“Well what did she say?

Yellow’s cheeks flush. “Just some reassurances.”

“Okay, and you said you saw her? What happened before that?”

“I just told her I was surprised she hadn’t left yet and she asked me if I could hear her. And then I said yes and asked her name. Then I think she started crying? But I saw her, it was only for one second. I told her she had pretty hair. It was long and silver, really cool. After that, she disappeared and I tried calling her name, but she didn’t come back” Yellow explains.

Her sister hangs on her every word.

“According to this book I read,” Connie begins, shuffling through book pages, “a ghost can only been seen if they want to. Of course, the others say one has to be a medium to see and hear ghosts. And we already know you are one, so maybe we can look at some of these and have a seance!”

“Connie, don’t you think we’re getting a bit carried away? I mean, I only saw her once and it was just for a second,” Yellow cuts in, “besides, it seems like she doesn’t even want to talk to me anymore. I haven't heard or seen her in the past few days.”

The dark haired woman groans. “Yellow, come on! You have to do this, it’s for science! We have to test these theories out. Aren’t you curious about that girl? You said it she was different from the others.”

Yellow relents and the two fall into deep conversation. She was much more skeptical than Connie. But her older sister had read every book with the word ‘ghost’ in the library, and Yellow did want to know how to contact Azurea again. 

Night falls by the time they finish talking. They had come up with a few ideas on how to open up a speaking link with the friendly spirit. Yellow falls asleep thinking about her, and her striking hair and flowing tears float through her dreams.

…

A few days after Yellow saw her, Azurea finally allowed herself to go back to the blonde’s apartment. She had paced outside the door for hours, thinking about the perfect words to say. It was hard to think of the right words to say, now that she knew Yellow could hear her.

She settled on a simple apology and an open ended question about Yellow’s life. The phantom had decided that she would like to know more about her life, especially since she seemed to have lived a very interesting life. 

But when she finally worked up the courage to walk through the door, she found herself alone. The lights were off and there was no Yellow, even though it was evening. She floated through the small space, double checking for any signs of life. 

At first, she decided Yellow must be off, perhaps meeting one of her friends, or teaching a new class. But the longer she stayed, the more apparent it was that the blonde had left. There was no toothbrush in the cup by the sink, no black phone charger on the nightstand. The closet door stood slightly ajar, showcasing empty hangers. 

_She really left,_ thought the spirit in dismay, _I scared her off._

Still, she waited a few days, hoping, wishing that the lively woman was coming back. Sitting on the ground, facing the front door, she waits. 

After two days, she grew bored. Azurea lets her gaze drift from the door around the apartment. At the empty counter and table. The hook where Yellow’s coat would be. 

Cerulean eyes found a spider in the corner, slowly spinning a web in the dust. It’s the final straw. 

Azurea got up, walking silently to the bedroom. She came to a rest on the neatly tucked bed in the room, pretending that she could sink in the softness of the duvet. She laid down, closing her eyes, which had begun to tear up. 

In her centuries of walking the Earth, she had only once felt such a devastating ache in her chest. She hugs her knees to her chest, feeling the ache growing stronger.

_Finally, someone talks to you and you have to go and scare them away._

She wishes she had stayed there with Yellow that day. Or that she had just kept her mouth shut in the first place. 

She brings a hand to her mouth, as if she could take back all the words. Clamped shut, no words or sobs can escape. 

Her fingernails dig into the soft skin of her cheeks, leaving a mark. Azurea allows the feeling of pain to wash over her, transferring some of the ache in her heart to her face. 

_Why are you even holding it back, she thinks darkly, no one is here to listen or care._

The floodgates open. Two pale hands ball up in fists begin to shake as sobs wracked through her body. Azurea loses herself in a pit of sorrow, mentally falling deeper and deeper into despair. 

_This is pointless! My existence has no meaning._

She begins to claw at her skin, leaving deep scratches she can feel, but can’t see.

_Maybe it did when Rozalia was alive, because her life was a constant reminder of everything that was good in the world. _

Once her skin grew numb, her hands shifted to her hair. Her fists balled up once more as she tried to pull out locks of her thick hair. 

_But now she’s gone and so is Yellow and all anyone ever does is leave._

When her fingers fail to loosen any strands of hair, she tugs harder. Anything to combat the ache in her heart. 

Azurea begins to scream. The crushing loneliness she’s built up over the years comes to a head and she begins to drown. Pain shoots out from her chest to the scratches, to her head, until it envelopes her entire body in white hot, searing pain. 

_It hurts...it hurts! It’s never going to stop…_

Now that the pain has spread out from her heart, she stops pulling at her hair, instead curling up in a ball. Her white hair splays around her, creating waves around her as her body quakes. She buries her head deep in her chest, her tears pooling in a puddle.

Azurea’s wails are so loud, she doesn’t hear the door unlock and a figure step in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the depressing chapter! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	6. Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow comes back to a very sad spirit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor ghost Blue man.

It’s late when Yellow returns back to her apartment. After spending a few days back at home, her heart feels rejuvenated. Connie promised to call with more information on seances and her two best friends were visiting the next weekend. 

Her heart skipped lightly as she turns the key in the door. A quick bounce of her foot and she crosses the threshold.

The slight smile dies on her lips, her light heart sinking. As she walks into the middle of the room, she’s struck by a wave of anguish. 

Yellow falls to her knees, tears forming. “Hello?” she whispers, her throat tight, “What’s going on?”

There’s no response. 

Panic sets in. The thin woman crawls on her hands and knees towards her bedroom, her heart drawing her forward. Tears have begun to spring from her eyes, dripping down her chin. 

The way to her bedroom is long and arduous. Every second is agony. Her mind is blank, filled only with swirling emotions that are not hers.

Finally, she pushes open the door to her bedroom. The pain grows so tight in her chest, that the moment her head peeks into the small room, she collapses. Even though her eyes are screwed tightly shut, a blue hue invades her vision.

A deep whimper leaves her full lips, alerting the room to her presence. 

All at once, the color and the pain disappear, leaving Yellow grasping at her empty chest. 

||_Keltä?_||

The blonde whips her head up, looking at her bed, where the voice had come from. Even in her dazed state, she could recognize the lilting tones.

She forces words past her dry lips. “Azurea? Are you there?”

||_You came back._||

The spirit’s voice is incredulous. 

Yellow squints in confusion. “Yes, I was just visiting my friends and family for a long weekend. I took your advice and reached out to them.”

The room is quiet. Yellow pushes herself off the ground, walking over to the bed. She sits down, facing the invisible girl. 

“Are you okay?” she asks, her voice gentle, worried. 

||_I’m fine._||

The blonde frowns at the obvious lie. Her thin brows furrow in thought. She opts to change try a different tactic. “I saw a blue light.”

||_You did?_||

Azurea’s tiny words barely carried to Yellow’s ears. Now that she was closer, she could hear that the ghost was speaking from below her. 

Looking down, she adds, “I did. And I the moment I walked into my apartment, I felt crippling emotions. Sadness and pain.”

Azurea’s eyes fly wide open. _Yellow felt her feelings?_

When she gets no response, Yellow continues, “Is that how you’re feeling? You’re in pain?

||_It’s...not important._||

Azurea responds dejectedly. 

“I think it is. What I felt...it was so strong. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much pain in my whole life. And I’ve gone through some shit,” Yellow chuckles, trying to lighten the mood.

The spirit sighs. If Yellow wanted to know that truth, she could give it to her. She didn’t have anything better to do. 

||_I got scared._|| 

She begins, pushing herself up so that she was sitting cross legged. 

||_I was surprised that you could hear me. That you saw me. It’s been centuries since anyone has seen me. I was so afraid, I know it’s silly. _

_But you sounded so kind, and I just had to come back, to thank you. I actually wanted to ask you a bit about your life; you seem to have such an interesting one. But when I came back, you weren’t here. I waited. A few days, I think. And you didn’t come back._

_I thought you’d left. That I’d scared you away. It seemed like you took most of your things with you._||

Yellow laughs. “I did take most of my things. I don’t really have many things.”

||_Yes, well I might have overreacted. I was just so sad. I didn’t realize how much I missed having someone to talk to and when I thought you’d left…_||

Tears began to spring from cerulean eyes.

“I’m so sorry, Azurea. I didn’t know you felt that way. But I’m here now, and we can still talk,” Yellow said shyly before admitting, “I was actually talking to my sister about you. We were thinking about having a seance so that I could talk to you again.”

||_Really?_||

The spirit asked, her eyes full of wonder. Yellow wanted to talk to me that badly? 

The blonde’s face turned slightly red, and she placed a hand behind her neck. “Yeah, I think you’re so nice. I wanted to know more about you.”

Azurea tilts her head, thinking. 

||_I suppose it’s good that I came back because I don’t think a seance would have worked. Although, I’m really sorry you had to witness my emotions. I didn’t know I could do that._||

A grin spread across Yellow’s face. “It’s kinda cool that you have emotional superpowers.” She paused. “Wait, what do you mean a seance wouldn’t work? Are they another misconception of the link between the living and the dead?”

||_I don’t know._||

Azurea answered. She hesitated before going on.

||_I’m not a true ghost._||

Yellow’s head snaps up. “What? You’re not? You’re not…a demon or anything are you?”

The spirit sighed. 

||_No. I’m not a demon. I’m just not exactly dead._||

“Did a witch put a curse on you?” Yellow asked jokingly.

||_Yes._||

Amber eyes pop open. “Really? That’s pretty cool! But I’m sorry you got stuck like this. It must be awful not being able to talk to anyone.”

||_It was my choice._||

Azurea’s voice was hard. 

||_And I regret nothing._||

“Um.” Yellow was unsure if she should press the phantom for details, but her curiosity overrode caution. “Would you mind sharing more?”

Azurea shifts to laying on her stomach above the bed. She props her head up with her hands and takes a deep breath. 

||_Well, it’s not a very happy story. My sister was dying, and back then we were more susceptible to diseases. I watched her die...and I knew I had to do something about it. She was so young, just 10 years old. _

_There was a forest next to our village. The elders would tell us tales of the mystical creatures within. One story was about a witch who had the power to bring people back to life, but only to those who were willing to pay the price. _

_I ran into the forest looking for her. I don’t know how I found her, or how she found me. But her hut appeared and I went inside. She was so scary. I remember I nearly left. But she was holding the vial that would bring back my sister and I couldn’t leave without it. _

_She told me that she would take my body in return. But she let me keep my soul, and for that I am grateful. She brought my sister back. Whenever I am lonely, I just think to the memories I have from watching her live her life. I got to watch her grow up. She became such a strong woman, with three children and a wonderful mate. I don’t regret a thing._||

Yellow sat, enthralled by her story. She thought that it explained why Azurea was so kind, if she had sacrificed her own body to save her sister. She clearly cared very deeply.

“That’s beautiful,” she whispered.

||_She was._||

The phantom’s words are wistful. 

||_Her name was Rozalia. I called her Pink._||

“Do you miss her? I know I’d miss my sister if she were gone,” Yellow said solemnly. 

||_You have a sister?_|| 

Yellow nods. 

||_But yes, sometimes I do. But she had a long life, well, long for back then._||

“I bet you were like her guardian angel,” Yellow smiled, remembering how Azurea had helped her.

But the invisible girl frowned. 

||_No. She could never hear me. Not after my body was taken._||

“I’m sorry. I would give you a hug if I could.” 

Tears begin to prick at Azurea’s eyes. 

||_Why are you so kind to me?_|| 

She asks, almost angrily.

“You deserve it of course! You’re such a gentle, caring person. You even gave up your own body to save your sister. And you’re very nice to me. Maybe...maybe we could be friends?” the blonde suggests shyly, a faint blush creeping on her cheeks.

Small droplets begin to make their way down the spirit’s pale cheeks as she stares, wide eyed at the woman in front of her. 

||_You really mean that?_||

Yellow smiles, hoping that her gaze was aimed in the right place. “Yes, I really mean it. I don’t have any friends here yet. And I don’t have any friends who are centuries old! I bet you have so many stories to tell; I’d love to hear more.”

Suddenly wishing she had a body to hug her new friend, she whispered her response.

||_Okay._||

“Oh, and I hope you don’t mind, but I know my sister will want to talk to you too, now that we’re on speaking terms again. Especially because now we know that witches are real. She’s going to be thrilled!” 

Azurea giggled, a melodic noise, like a river cascading down a waterfall.

||_I’d love to meet her. Although, I don’t know if she will be able to hear me. I haven’t been able to speak so much with anyone before you._||

Yellow found herself grinning widely, glowing from the sound of the phantom’s laugh. “That’s alright, I can translate.”

The blonde earned another chuckle. 

||_Um, could I ask you a question?_||

Azurea’s voice was suddenly serious.

“Yes, of course. Anything.”

She hesitates before continuing. 

||_May I call you Yellow? You never introduced yourself, and I only know that your name is Keltä because I read the name on your mail._||

“Yeah, sure. It’s what most of my friends call me,” Yellow says, smiling, “and you’re one of my friends now, too!”

Azurea lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

||_Thank you. I like this name. Yellow. I think it suits you; you’re so warm and bright._||

In that moment, Yellow felt her heart swell. She couldn’t explain why, but her newest friend filled her chest in ways that she hadn’t felt before. 

_Maybe it’s because I haven’t had a ghost friend before. Not that she’s really a ghost. But she’s nice and funny, and it’s so good to have a friend here._

Little did she know, Azurea felt the exact same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	7. Connie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie visits Yellow and Blue.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a bit more of Azurea's backstory.

“Hey, Blue! How was your day?” Yellow had given the spirit the nickname for the blue color she sometimes exuded. 

The blonde had just come back from work and was sitting at the tiny table eating dinner. Blue was hovering just above the chair opposite her. The two had fallen into an easy routine. The phantom would wait for her friend to return from work, and they would talk late into the night. Yellow would share stories of her classes, and her dojo which was thriving. 

And Blue would share the happenings in the building. Yellow learned about all the residents and their odd habits. The invisible girl never failed to make her laugh. She felt so lucky to have stumbled into this special friendship. Her evenings were now filled with chatter instead of lonely silence. She loved how she and the spirit could speak about anything and everything. 

Well, almost everything. There was one topic that Blue wouldn’t touch on. Her sister. After the first mention of the beloved girl, Blue never mentioned her again. Yellow didn’t know why but didn’t want to press. It was clearly a sensitive subject, so Yellow never pressed. But her curiosity burned just the same. 

||_It was alright, Yellow. The twins down the hall had their fifth birthday today. It was cute to watch, but they had a magician who wasn’t very good. I had to help him more than once._||

Yellow grins. “They should have tipped you, then!” 

||_It would have been very embarrassing for him. But luckily, he was able to hear me._||

Blue said as she twisted a strand of hair around a slender finger. 

“You’re a lifesaver,” the blonde complimented before changing the subject, “Are you ready to meet my sister Connie? She should be here in an hour.”

The meeting with her sister was much awaited by both women. Yellow’s friends, Jasper and Pearl, had stayed the weekend before, but neither were able to hear the ghost. Her friends weren’t very well versed in the supernatural, so Blue had decided to save the introductions for another time.

But Connie would be much different. Not only did she know more than Yellow about ghosts, she was coming to see the phantom.

||_I suppose so. But she won’t be able to hear me, correct?_||

Blue began to pace nervously, still pulling at her hair. 

“I don’t think so. She’s never been able to hear ghosts before. But you’re not a ghost, so maybe she will be able to? I don’t really know how any of this works,” Yellow admitted.

Blue was silent. The prospect of someone coming to meet her was still a foreign concept in her mind. It had been so long, and she felt woefully out of touch with social processes.

Luckily, the blond seemed to sense her thoughts. “Hey, don’t worry! Connie’s really nice and if she can’t hear you, then I’ll just tell her what you say.”

An invisible smile stretched across the spirit’s lips. She could do this.

…

“Yellow! Azurea! It’s Connie!”

A black-haired woman stood knocking outside Yellow’s apartment. The door was quickly opened, and she was ushered in.

Yellow swept her older sister into a hug. “Connie! I’m so glad you could make it. How were finals?”

Connie grinned, her eyes sparkling behind her round glasses. “They were fine, but enough about boring things. Let me meet Azurea!”

The phantom was watching the two sisters exchange greetings from the middle of the room. Her mouth was set in a nervous line, wringing her slender hands together below her waist.

“Come over and meet my sister, Blue,” the blonde calls, looking in her general direction.

Blue walks over to the pair as Connie asks, “Blue?”

A slight blush crept onto the pale woman’s face. “Yeah, well I called her ‘blue-girl’ once, and she didn’t like the ‘girl’ part. She said it didn’t sound very nice. But ‘Blue’ stuck, so I call her that now.”

Connie was now close enough for Blue to touch. She hesitated, not knowing what to say, and cursed herself for being so shy.

||_Hello._||

Two eyes snap to look in her direction. “Wow, you have such a pretty voice!” Connie says happily. 

Blue breathes a sigh of relief. _She can hear me._

||_Thank you._||

“This is awesome,” Connie continues, “my first ghost encounter! Although, Yellow told me you’re not really a ghost.”

When Blue failed to respond, Yellow placed a gentle hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Blue can be a bit shy. Try not to overwhelmed her, Cons.”

The phantom’s heart swelled at Yellow’s protectiveness. Surged with new courage, she finds her voice once more.

||_It’s very nice to meet you, Connie._||

“So, what’s it like being a ghost, Blue?” The older woman’s dark eyes bore through her transparent form. 

||_It’s lonely._||

“I bet it is,” Connie said sympathetically, “I’m really glad you and Yellow are friends.”

||_She is very kind._||

The blonde grinned. “Thanks, Blue.” 

“What do you miss most about being alive?” Connie asked boldly.

Yellow pursed her lips, frowning at the probing question. But before she could chastise her sister, Blue spoke.

||_Connection._||

“Mm,” Connie said pensively. She barely hesitated before plunging into the next question, “Yellow told me that you sacrificed yourself for your sister. Do you miss her?”

Blue’s hands flew to her mouth. She wasn’t expecting such a question. Her body tensed, ready to run away, but something in the dark-haired woman’s eyes made her stay. There was a kindness, a genuine curiosity in them. She decided to answer truthfully.

||_I do. Watching her age was beautiful, but painful._||

Dark eyebrows lower slightly as Connie concentrated on the soft voice. “Tell me more.”

“Connie,” Yellow said suddenly, sharply. 

Brown eyes slide over to the blonde. “I just want to hear more,” Connie said innocently.

“It’s—“ Yellow began, but was cut off by a sudden tightness in her throat. The room was bathed in an indigo light. She felt the pain begin in her chest and tears well up in her eyes.

Connie seemed unaffected by the wave of emotion. “Pathokinesis!” she said, watching her sister slump down.

A wail came through the apartment, like a hurricane.

||_I watched her die!_||

Yellow fell to the ground. She opened her mouth to shout comforting words to the phantom, but she was too late. Memories were spilling from of Blue’s mouth, a story from distant times tumbling out.

...

_A woman lay in a large bed, surrounded by blankets and pillows. Her face was old, wrinkled. Her once light brown hair streaked white, her curls spilling around on the pillows. _

_Surrounding the bed are three younger ladies.Her daughters. The frail woman reaches her hand out to them, whispering loving words. Tears were flowing freely._

_Suddenly, the older woman sat up, pushing herself up on shaking arms. “Is there are any word on Azurea? Has anyone located her?”_

_The three women exchange a sorrowful glance. “No, Mother,” one says gently, “No one could locate her. I’m sorry.”_

_A look of desolation flashes through the sickly woman’s face. “I see.”_

_Above the four women, floats a spirit. Tears are streaming from her somber eyes. Her lips move as she whispers unheard words._

||_Rozalia...oh Rozalia...Pink!_||

_“I just wish I could see her one last time.” The older woman whispers, clutching one of her daughter’s hands._

_“You’ll see her soon,” soothes the girl standing by her head. _

_“Yes,” adds another, “She may have already passed over to the Otherworld.”_

_“I suppose.” _

_She falls back into the bed, closing her eyes. _

_As the time passes, her breathing becomes calmer. Every few minutes, one of the girls will squeeze her hands, whispering to her that everything will be alright. _

_The spirit watches, floating closer and closer, until she stands right next to the three daughters. As the night passes, her whispers gradually grow louder and louder, until she’s shouting into the room._

||_I LOVE YOU PINK! WHY CAN’T YOU HEAR ME!!_||

_But her words went unheard._

_After some time, the old woman begins to cough, her breathing becoming labored. She uses the last of her strength to draw her daughters near, forcing a last few words out through her tight throat. _

_“I...love...you.”_

||_NO PINK!!!_||

_“We love you, Mother.”_

_The old woman breathes her last breath, her wrinkled face falling slack as her expression dulls. _

_“We’ll see you in the Otherworld.” The three younger women push their foreheads together, tears streaming from their eyes. They gently shut their mother’s mouth and pull the blanket over her head. _

_Their silence is sharply contrasted with the screaming above them._

||_PINK PINK PINK NO...NO!! OH NO PINK!!_||

_The screaming continued for hours. The spirit sobbed and wailed, agonized. She didn’t stop, even after the three young women left the hut, shrouds covering their heads. Even after the covered body was taken out, to be prepared for burial. She stayed, kneeling next to the bed, clutching the space where her sister’s hands once lay._

...

“Oh, Azurea...I’m so, so sorry.” Yellow’s face shone with tears, not all of which could be blamed on the blue light.

“That’s terrible,” Connie adds, her eyes now wet with emotion.

||_I never got to tell her that I loved her. Even as she lay there..._||

The spirit’s voice was choked off with a sob. Her tears stream down her face, dissipating into the air below her. She bows her head, a curtain of white hair obstructing her vision. 

_If only I could see her now, I could offer her some sort of condolence. She’s been suffering for ages, dealing with all this grief alone,_ thought Yellow as she hears Blue cry. Almost subconsciously, she pushed herself up, moving closer towards the sobbing noises. 

Yellow took three steps towards the middle of the room, bringing one hand up. Her body feels as if it were made of lead, each step straining all her muscles. When she reaches the center of the room, her heavy heart feels as if it could drop down to the floor. Yellow’s whole body is nearly paralyzed with sadness and she falls to her knees once more.

Blue’s sobs turn to screams as Yellow reaches her hand out. She stretches her fingers, splaying them out before her, until suddenly, her vision is filled with blue.

The screaming stops, a sharp gasp replacing it. 

Yellow looks up to the spirit’s now visible face, amber eyes meeting cobalt ones. “Azurea,” she breathes.

||_C-can you...see me?_|| 

The blonde nods and the room sits in silence for a few moments. 

Connie speaks first, her voice reverent. “It’s a classic psychic-ghost situation. Yellow can see you when you two are touching.”

Yellow watches silent tears fall from Blue’s azure eyes, her long, drooping eyelashes sticking together with the water. 

The phantom stares back at her, unblinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	8. Proposition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie and Yellow have a proposal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a bit of Yellow/Blue romance!

“This is great! Now you guys can look at each other when you speak!” Connie’s excited voice continued on as the Yellow and Blue continued to stare at each other, Yellow’s hand still stretched out through the spirit’s shoulder. 

Even though Yellow’s cheeks had began to turn bright red, she found herself unwilling to pull her gaze away from Blue’s image. Her honey colored eyes swept through her friend’s face, drinking in each detail. From her thick eyelashes framing her blue eyes, to her full lips that were slightly parted in shock, her features were truly spectacular. Yellow admired the way her white hair curled in towards her face, two locks framing her face like an upside down heart. 

But Blue grew bashful, the direct eye contact being too intense. She giggled nervously. 

||_Yellow, why are you staring at me like that?_||

Before the blonde could answer, Connie’s eyes swept up to the ceiling as she blurts, “That’s just the way she looks when she finds someone attra-- oof!”

Yellow pulled her eyes away from Blue to jab her sister quickly in the side. “I’m sorry for staring. I was just surprised to see you again,” she said quickly.

The spirit turns her head, deciding to ignore the deep blush set across Yellow’s cheeks and the sudden tingling in her stomach. 

||_It seems like there’s a lot I don’t know about my state, even after all this time. I don’t think anyone has ever touched me since I lost my form._||

“Do you think it works with anyone? Can I try?” asks the brown-haired girl.

||_Of course._||

Connie reaches her hand out below her sister’s. She looks around expectantly, but nothing appears. “I don’t see anything,” she announces.

“I guess you’re still invisible to others,” Yellow says sadly.

||_That’s alright, I’m glad you can see me, at least._||

Blue was surprised at the truth behind her words. She wasn’t disappointed that Connie couldn’t see her. 

“Well maybe we can try a few new experiments now that we know you and Yellow can interact in other ways?” suggests Connie.

The blonde turns back to Blue. “It’s up to you. I know this might be a bit overwhelming, me seeing you and everything.

||_No, it’s alright. I’m curious as well._||

“Okay, let’s start with seeing if Yellow needs to establish the connection. Yellow, put your hand down, and Blue reach out to touch Yellow,” Connie commands, assuming her role as a researcher. 

The two do as they are told. Blue reaches out with one slender hand to grab Yellow on the shoulder. Although her hand sinks down through the blonde’s sharp shoulder, she imagines that she can feel the hard muscles. 

“I can see you!” Yellow grins, meeting her gaze. 

“Great! Now we know it works both ways,” says Connie, ignoring the hearts in her sister’s eyes, “Now let’s see if touch has any effect on your pathokinesis.”

The trio run several tests before the two sisters grow tired. While they don’t find anything else of significance, both Yellow and Blue glow with the knowledge that they can now look into each other's eyes.

The phantom bade the two humans goodnight, promising to come back to join them for breakfast. She phases through the apartment door, as the two threaten each other if one should snore. 

…

Once Blue is left alone with her thoughts, she allows herself to digest the day’s findings. Surprisingly, being seen again doesn’t feel as scary as it had the first time. No, what was worrisome was the way the blonde looked at her, and what it made her feel. 

Back when she lived in her village, Blue had never had time to explore relationships with other youths from her village. Her mother hadn’t been very close, and her father had died shortly after her birth. This meant she didn’t know a darn thing about romantic relationships. 

Her feelings for Yellow were complicated. She wasn’t sure if the intense pleasure she felt when speaking to her friend was because she was finally being heard, or for other, deeper reasons. 

Yellow was charming. Her delicate features made her very attractive, and her striking honey color eyes alluring. But it was her fierce protectiveness to those she loved that Blue found herself thinking about. The way she spoke about her friends and family. And how she would give them her undivided attention if they needed to talk about something. Or the way Yellow had worried when Connie asked so many personal questions. 

But Blue couldn’t place her feelings for the blonde. It was complicated. She was complicated. She was a spirit, a woman centuries old, without a physical body. And besides that, she was difficult. Fearful, anxious, scarred, calloused. Awkward. 

She was developing feelings for her new friend, but it wouldn’t do much good to dwell on them. She was not alive, she could have no part in any dating games. 

Blue sighed. _I should be grateful that she even wants to be my friend. I can’t do most things; all we can do is sit and talk._

…

“Yellow! Yellow, wake up.” 

The thin blonde rolled over in her bed, turning to face her older sister who lay beside her. “What time is it?” she asked sleepily.

The brown-eyed girl rolled her eyes. “Morning! Now listen, I was thinking about Azurea last night before I fell asleep. I think we should help her get her body back.”

Two amber eyes widen, suddenly awake. “What? Get her...Connie, you know that sounds crazy right? I mean for one, maybe she doesn’t even want it back. She was pretty clear that she didn’t regret her sacrifice.” 

“Oh, come on!” says Connie with a sigh, “Just because she doesn’t regret it doesn’t mean she doesn’t want it back. Besides, I find this whole deal completely unfair! I mean she saved her sister’s one life, but the witch has been using her body for several lifetimes now. I say we go find her and demand she give it up!”

Yellow watched a glow in her sister’s eyes burn. She knew her how her sister could get when she had an idea. “I think we should ask Blue how she feels about it. And I think we should ask carefully. You were kind of hard on her yesterday.” 

To her surprise, Connie nodded in agreement. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard. But we did learn a lot. I think it was good for her. She hasn’t talked about any of that stuff with her sister before. It must be hard to keep all the heaviness to herself.”

“Alright. Well, we can ask her what she thinks before we go off making any rash plans. And we might as well get up, I’m sure she’ll be coming back soon,” Yellow says before leaving the bed to get dressed. 

…

When Blue comes back to Yellow’s apartment, she finds the two sisters sitting at the small table eating breakfast. 

||_Good morning._||

“Blue!” Connie exclaims, her face lighting up at the voice. 

Blue puts a slender hand on Yellow’s muscled shoulder. The blonde looks up at her sheepishly. But before she can dwell on her strange expression, Connie rushes on.

“Yellow and I were thinking, maybe we can help you get your body back!” 

“Actually, it was Connie’s idea,” Yellow says quickly. 

The phantom looks from one sister to the other. Connie is beaming in her direction. Yellow on the other hand, searches her face, looking for signs of distress.

||_It’s very nice of you to offer. But it would be dangerous, and I don’t even know where the witch is now. Besides, I made a deal, and I’m sure we couldn’t get it back without sacrificing something in return._||

“You’re right, of course. I tried to tell Connie that it wasn’t a good idea,” Yellow said, still looking embarrassed. 

Suddenly, the white-haired spirit looked wistful. 

||_It would be nice to have a physical form again. But I couldn’t ask that of you._||

Connie’s eyes began to glow. “We are so going on a witch hunt! I can do some research on witches at the library when I get back home.”

Her enthusiasm was infectious. “Okay, let’s find this lady! Where is this forest you found her in? Is this apartment building where your village was?” Yellow said with determination. 

||_I’m not convinced this is a good idea. Even if we were to find the witch, and recovered my body, I have no place in society now._||

“What do you mean?” asked Connie with a frown.

||_Jobs, for example. They didn’t exist when I was alive. I have no employable skills._||

“Oh but that’s silly! I’m sure you can find a job that suits you. There are so many options. Yellow and I can help you,” Connie said.

“Yes, and you can stay with me in my apartment. I’m sure I can find a used couch or another bed somewhere,” Yellow adds. Connie shoots her a look, with one eyebrow raised. 

Blue feels tears prickle in her eyes.

||_You are both so nice!_||

The phantom removes her hand from Yellow’s shoulder, too ashamed to let the thin woman watch her cry. 

“You’re our friend,” Connie says softly, “and we’ll do anything to help you. That’s what friends are for.” 

Yellow nods, reaching out to her. Once they make contact, her honey colored eyes bore into her, conveying the weight of Connie’s words.

“So, Blue, are we doing this? Are we going on a witch hunt?” 

Looking between the two sisters, Blue feels a surge of warmth flow through her heart. She had friends, something she hadn’t had in centuries. And now, they wanted to help her get her body back. 

||_It will be dangerous._|| 

Blue’s voice deadpanned.

To her surprise, Yellow only laughed. “I’m used to danger. I fought in underground fight rings as a child, it can’t be so bad!” 

||_I would never forgive myself if you were hurt._||

Tears fell and her voice shook. She looked up to Yellow’s face, pleading with her.

But it was Connie that answered. “So we’ll be careful. Now, tell us where this forest is! Then I can use the location to search if there are any recorded stories about this witch.”

Her grin almost split her face into two, and the one Yellow was sporting was almost as large. Blue nearly melted under the intensity of the two stares. Finally, she relented.

||_The forest is next to a town now called Monterey._||

Connie reached into a backpack leaning against her chair and brought out a small notebook and pencil. “Okay, and what was your village called? We need as many details as possible. I can use my university’s database to look up some old myths of the area.” 

||_It was called Wysteria. I lived there 387 years ago._||

“This is great! I will look up information as soon as I am back home. I’ll text call Yellow and tell you guys what I find,” the black-haired woman said, her eyes full of stars.

Yellow was laughing again. “Oh now you’ve done it! Now that Connie’s got a new project, we won’t be able to talk about anything else until we’ve found that witch.” 

“Hey, what about when you and your martial arts studio. It’s all we heard about for a whole year!” Connie shot back.

Blue watched as the blonde play tackled her sister, observing them screaming and laughing. She sighed. There was still so much to discuss, but she couldn’t bring herself to bring the subject back. Not when the two were having so much fun. Her mind pulled back to her own sister and Blue was suddenly glad no one could see her. Tears silently fell, unnoticed. 

_There will be more time to talk about this later._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	9. Stories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie does some research.

Over the course of a week, Connie had found out a surprising amount of information on the witch.

“Turns out, there are a few stories of people meeting her. There’s even one similar to Azurea’s!” Connie’s voice was bright on the phone. 

Yellow sat at the dining table, her back straight and her legs crossed as she listened intently. She had placed her phone on the table, on speakerphone, so that Blue could also listen in. The phantom stood next to her, a hand placed on her shoulder. 

“I’ll give you a summary of the three stories I found,” Connie continues, “So, the first story is the oldest. I think it’s even older than you, Blue!”

The white-haired girl smiled. 

“Alright, go on then,” Yellow urges, impatient. 

There’s a laugh. “Okay, okay! But it’s very fanciful and I’m not sure if it’s really the same witch. Basically, there was a young woman, maybe 23, who was learning about charms and magic. There’s a whole book about her life and I skimmed it, but there’s just one passage about the witch. I think it’s the same one, because this is the description: ‘A white-haired woman, thin and willowy. She looked as if she had lived a thousand lives, yet her eyes, blackened and huge, were youthful.’ There’s also another paragraph where her hands are described as ‘skeletal fingers with midnight black nails,’ That sounds like your witch, right Blue?”

||_Certainly._||

“Blue says yes,” Yellow relays. 

“I thought so, too. The passage just talks about how she’s a masterful witch with formidable skills. The girl telling the story wanted her to teach her. It says that she studied under the witch, who she calls ‘White’ for three months. She talks about all the different potions she learned how to make. Mostly basic things really, and she was really frustrated that she never got to learn how to make the potion that brings people back to life. There’s really not much else about her, other than that.” 

Connie pauses, before adding, “but it does mention a familiar. A grey bird with one eye. Her name is Winny and she’s mute. It says the bird watches over everything, and that her one eye is always wide open. It’s described as very unnerving, like she’s always judging.”

“Alright, what does the next one say?” Yellow asks, looking to Blue to see her reaction. The spirit’s face is surprisingly blank. Still, she shoots her an encouraging smile. 

“The next one is much more helpful. I don’t know who wrote it, but it was signed by ‘W.P.’ and they apparently met her a few times. It actually talks about why she takes bodies. Apparently she needs them because she possesses them and uses them to do work for her. The bodies are basically her minions that she can mind control. 

She can send them to town to buy things for her, or use them to help her garden. She has expansive gardens and they need lots of people to upkeep. She likes to use possessed people because they don’t make mistakes and they can do exactly what she wants. The plants she gardens are hard to grow, so I guess she needs perfect workers so that they don’t accidentally kill the precious plants. 

This all actually pretty cool! Especially to know that this is all real! I mean I would love these stories either way, but to know that one of my friends has seen this witch? It’s beyond cool!”

Connie’s excited tone brings a laugh from Yellow’s lips. Her own eyes hold stars as she listens to her sister speak. Turning again to the phantom next to her, she remarks, “You’re pretty cool too, Blue.”

A blush creeps across Blue’s pale cheeks. But before she can respond, Connie’s voice sounds again.

“Come on, Yellow! You can flirt later, I only have a few minutes before my next class!”

Now Yellow’s cheeks flush a beet red. “Okay, we’re listening,” she says, turning back to the phone.

“So, the last story is about the witch herself. It says that she gardens rare mushrooms, so maybe we can find some to give her in exchange for your body, Blue? It also talks about her background. I was actually pretty curious myself, to know what she’s like. It must be lonely to live all by yourself and never talk to anyone except your familiar. 

In one of the passages about her, it does say that she’s a lonely woman. This was written by another witch, Black. It talks about how they used to be close, but White retreated to the forest after her daughter died. It doesn’t say her name or how she died, but it does refer to her as ‘Starlight’. That’s when she started to learn how to bring people back from the dead. 

And in the last paragraph, Black says that the reason she makes these deals with the people who seek her out is that she doesn’t believe in happy endings. Although she does use the bodies for various tasks, like gardening or running errands for her, she mostly does it because she doesn’t think that everyone should get to be happy. She’s bitter, because of what happened with her daughter. She says that someone always has to pay the price.”

There’s a moment of silence as the three women digest the new information. 

“She’s a monster! That’s horrible, that she would take bodies just because she doesn’t think that people should be happy,” Yellow says, folding her arms across her chest. “We should go there and beat some sense into her.”

“I know! It’s terrible,” Connie agrees.

||_She’s not a monster. She’s grieving._||

Blue’s voice is hard. When Yellow turns to look at her, she sees pain in her cerulean eyes. 

“You’re right. I’m sorry, we shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. We don’t know her full story,” the blonde admits, her tone suddenly soft. 

“You two talk about this more, and call me later, okay?” Connie’s voice startles both women, causing them to turn back to the phone. “I have to go, but text me, Yellow? And I’ll come visit this weekend.”

“Thanks for finding this stuff for us, Cons!” Yellow says.

||_Please tell her thank you from me as well._||

“Blue says thanks too! Have fun in class.” 

When Yellow turns back to Blue, she finds the phantom worriedly twisting her arms together. “What’s wrong?” She asks, trying to keep her voice gentle. 

||_This isn’t going to work. She’s not going to just give me my body back, and I have nothing to offer her in return._||

She hangs her head, her hair forming a curtain in front of her face. A habit she had picked up whenever she couldn’t stand to be looked at. Yellow wishes, not for the first time, that she could give the sad woman a hug. 

“We’ll find something to give her. We could look for mushrooms! I’m sure there’s bound to be a rare species that she can’t find in her forest. Or maybe we can find a kid that looks like her daughter and offer her that!” Yellow’s lips curl up as she laughs at her silly proposition.

Blue chuckles. 

||_I doubt finding a child to sacrifice will be very easy._||

“No, it’s best to stick with mushrooms,” Yellow agreed, pretending to be serious for a moment before bursting into laughter. 

The spirit watches Yellow laugh for a moment, enjoying seeing her so relaxed before succumbing to her own fit of giggles. A lightness fills her heart, something that often occurred when the blonde was around.

Without thinking, she flung her arms around Yellow’s narrow frame, wrapping her in a hug. Her arms phased through her body, and she couldn’t feel the embrace.

Still, Yellow gasped at the gesture, bringing her own arms around Blue’s willowy body. Their laughter stopped as they stared into each others eyes. Even though neither woman could feel the other in her arms, they could feel it in their hearts.

And their cheeks, which were both darkening at an alarming rate. 

After a few moments, Blue stepped out of the pseudo embrace, still holding her arms out in a circle. Her form winked out of Yellow’s sight.

||_I should, um, check on..._||

Her voice trailed off.

“Wait!” Yellow cried, lunging forward with an arm reached out. Her arm pierced through Blue’s form, right where her heart would be.

||_I…_||

“What’s wrong?” The blonde asked. Blue could see the confusion that edged on hurt in her eyes.

She looked down to her slender hands, wringing them together once more. Several seconds pass before she admits. 

||_You...you make me feel funny._||

Yellow eyes fly open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Sorry for the cliffhanger!


	10. Phone Calls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yellow has a chat with Jasper and Pearl to sort out her feelings.

The two women stand, facing each other. Yellow’s outstretched hand begins to shake. 

“I...I don’t understand,” the blonde says, still staring directly into deep cerulean eyes.

Silky white hair obstructs her vision once more as Blue looks down. 

||_I don’t understand either. You’re just so nice to me. It makes me feel strange._||

“Strange in what way?” Yellow’s words come out gentle, and her banging heartbeat nearly drowns out Blue’s soft reply.

||_Strange like I want to ki...hug you. I like you a lot, Yellow._||

“I like you, too,” she whispers back, taking a step forward.

But Blue moves her own form away, until Yellow can’t see her anymore. 

||_I should go. Shall we meet again tomorrow?_||

Yellow blinks, disturbed by Blue’s departure, but comforted by her promise of return. “Have a good evening!” she calls.

Then she walks to her bedroom, flopping down on her bed. “This is a mess,” she mutters to herself, before picking up her phone.

She scrolls through her contacts, past the names of her students and some of their parents, until she finds the name of one of her best friends. She hits call.

While she’s listening to the ringing, she begins to pace. Her heart begins to sink after one ring, she doesn’t think she will have the courage to call again. 

“Hey, what’s up?”

Yellow sighs in relief. “Hey, Jasper. I kind of need some advice.” 

Jasper grunts in amusement, a gravelly sound. “Yeah, okay. Shoot.”

The blonde takes a deep breath, to settle her pounding heart. “I think I like someone. And it’s really complicated.” The words come out so quickly, they’re nearly slurred together. 

“Whoa, slow down, Yellow. Who is this guy?”

A blush creeps on her pale face, and she’s glad that no one was around to see. “It’s actually a woman,” she chokes out gruffly.

“Yeah...okay.” Jasper’s voice is unsure. Yellow can feel her heart sinking in regret. 

“Um, and she’s...she’s like a spirit. You know, the girl I told you about a few weeks ago? Well, she’s like my only friend out here, and I think I might like her.” 

When Jasper fails to respond, Yellow rushes on, nervously trying to cover the silence. “And Connie and I are going to find the witch to get her body back. I know it sounds strange, but she’s a really nice person and I just want to see her and talk to her all the time. I think I really like her, and if we get her body back, maybe we could, I don’t know, date?”

“This all sounds kind of weird.” Jasper says finally.

“I know.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you need to get out more. There’s got to be some normal people out there to date. And go punch something for stars sake! You sound like you need to clear your head.”

Jasper’s gravelly voice pierces Yellow’s heart. “I...You’re right. I just, I don’t know how to get her out of my head. She’s got such a pretty voice, and she’s so nice, you know? I can’t stop thinking about her.”

“A few of us are going to have a sparring match this weekend. You should come. Clear your head.” 

Yellow sighs. Jasper wasn’t the most emotionally available person to talk to. Deep down, she knew that her feelings for the spirit were strange, but she needed someone to talk to. 

“I’ll think about it.”

“Good.” 

As she’s opening her mouth to say goodbye, Yellow is surprised when her friend’s voice suddenly turns softer.

“And call Pearl okay? I’m not good with this stuff.” 

Suddenly the other woman’s harsh words seemed less cutting. A smile pulls on her lips as she speaks, “Alright, will do. Thanks for listening, Jasper.”

She stares at her phone for a moment. _That was a complete failure,_ she thinks, _maybe I shouldn’t call Pearl…_

But then an ache strikes her heart, and she knows she needs to talk about this. Her heart races, and she jumps up from the bed to pace.

Pearl answers after the first ring. “Yellow! How are you?”

Yellow smiles at her bright voice. “I’m okay, how are you?”

“Good!”

There’s a pause, as Yellow thinks about the right words to say. “Have you ever liked someone?”

“Yeah, of course,” says Pearl, no traces of surprise in her voice as she continues, “I actually asked this model I met at a shoot out last week. We’re going on a date next week! Why do you ask?”

Yellow relaxes. Pearl was a much more open person to talk to. “Oh that’s great! I hope it goes well--”

“Yellow, do you like someone?” Pearl’s voice interrupts. 

“Um...I mean--”

“Who is it?!” 

A smile threatens to break across Yellow’s face. She sits on the bed and feels her body relax as she begins to speak. “Do you remember the ghost I told you about?”

“Azurea? Yeah, I remember her. Oh my stars, Yellow, do you like this mysterious woman?” Pearl nearly yells, her voice rising in excitement. 

“Well, yes, sort of. It’s a little complicated, and I know it’s a little weird. Especially since Blue--Azurea’s a spirit and all…but Connie and I are going to try to get her body back, she did some research about the witch who took it.” 

“Oh my stars,” Pearl repeats, and Yellow can practically hear her eyes glistening. “Yellow this is so cute! You’re going to go on this magical quest to get your love’s body back from an evil witch. That’s so romantic! You’re like her brave knight!”

A blush creeps across Yellow’s pale cheeks as she listens to her friend excitedly speculate. “I mean, it’s not like that. I just want her to be happy, and she’s so lonely now because she can’t really talk to anyone.”

“Stop it. You are so smitten!” Pearl laughs. “Just promise me that you’ll bring her around to meet us when she gets her body back?”

“I will, but Pearl, don’t you think that this is a little strange?” Yellow asks, still unsure after her conversation with Jasper.

“What do you mean?” The complete lack of judgment in Pearl’s voice gives Yellow the push she needs to voice her fears.

“Isn’t it a little strange that the first person I like, I mean really like, is a ghost? I mean she’s not a ghost, but she’s a spirit. Without a body. And she has no idea how to live in modern civilization and I don’t even know if we’ll be able to get her body back.” The blonde jumps off the bed to pace around again. Her still racing heart beats stronger as she quickly walks. 

“I don’t think so. You had a rough childhood, and I know romance must have been the last thing on your mind. You can’t help liking who you like, and she does sound lovely.”

“She is lovely. But you really don’t think it’s strange? Jasper seemed to think it was really weird.” 

“Oh you know Jasper. She’s not good at this kind of stuff. It’s a little unconventional, which I’m sure she pointed out, but it’s not so weird.”

Yellow’s pacing slows slightly as she listens to her friend. “Thank you, Pearl,” she says earnestly, feeling her chest swell.

“Of course! I’m happy to help with anything you need. Don’t forget that,” Pearl says. After a moment of silence, she asks, “What does she think of it all?”

“Who, Blue?”

“Yes, what does she think about this? Have you told her how you feel?”

“No.” Yellow’s pacing resumes its quick tempo.

“Why not? Oh Yellow, why do you always keep your emotions to yourself? I think you’d feel a lot better if you told her how you feel.”

“It’s not that simple. I don’t want to scare her off,” Yellow said slowly, “and I don’t really think she has any experience with stuff like this. She did say I made her feel funny, though. Before she left.”

“That sounds like a good sign! Just tell her how you feel! It might even make her feel better about her feelings. I can help you think of what to say, if you’d like.” 

Yellow smiles. “No, it’s okay. I need to think about this, I think.”

“Alright, well I’m only a call or text away.” 

“Thank you, Pearl.” 

After the two exchange some more pleasantries, Yellow hangs up, feeling much lighter than before. But as she gets ready for bed, Blue’s silky white hair floats through her mind as she washes out her hair gel. And the phantom’s slender fingers creep through her thoughts as she brushes her teeth. 

As she’s laying in bed, about to drift to sleep, she makes up her mind to tell the woman about her crush. 

_It won’t be so bad. I’ll just make sure she knows that she doesn’t have to do anything about it. It’s just feelings. It’ll be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Sorry for making you guys wait for more Blue/Yellow development! There will be plenty in the next chapter.


	11. Kisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas came early everyone. This chapter is sweeter than candy. Like, seriously, this chapter is just straight fluff. You can use this Bellow to warm the fire in your heart.

Yellow woke up early the next morning. Blue hadn’t said when she would be arriving, but the spirit normally joined her for breakfast. 

She sprung out of bed, her heart already pounding with anxiety over their previous conversation. Walking to the bathroom, she decided that she would dress a bit nicer that day. She wanted to look her best for Blue, but she wouldn’t allow herself to dwell on it. 

Grabbing her hair gel, she began to style her hair. Once stiff peaks began to form, she smiled at her reflection. A good hairdo always gave her a boost of confidence, and she had a very important confession to make. She grabbed her favorite button down shirt and some black jeans. 

_I am not dressing up for Blue,_ she thought sternly, _I am simply dressing nicely because it gives me confidence._

Taking one last look at her reflection, she nods. She could do this. 

To her surprise, a soft voice greets her as she opens the bedroom door. 

||_Good morning, Yellow._||

“Blue! I wasn’t expecting you here so early!” The words slip out of her mouth before she can stop them. 

||_I’m sorry, I can leave if you’d like some time to yourself._||

The spirit comes to place a hand on Yellow’s shoulder. Yellow smiles at her, meeting her eyes. “No, please stay.”

Blue runs her fingers through her hair a few times before taking a lock of white hair to twist around her finger. 

||_Okay._||

Yellow waits a moment, not knowing how to bring up the previous night’s topic. She brings them kitchen, and begins making a cup of coffee. “Do you like tea? I wish I could offer you a cup. You seem like a tea kind of person,” she says, trying to ease the tension. 

||_I’ve never tasted coffee before. We didn’t have it. But I was fond of tea._||

“When we get your body back, I’ll brew you a cup of coffee. I make great coffee!” Yellow says proudly. 

Blue gives her a small smile.

||_I’d like that._||

“We can also go to a tea store. They have whole stores that just sell tea. There are so many types, I’m sure you’d love it,” Yellow says, placing her steaming cup of coffee on the table. She goes to the fridge and grabs her usual overnight oatmeal and sits down at the table. Blue takes her usual spot across from her, with a hand on her shoulder. 

||_That sounds wonderful. I’ve never been inside a store before._||

“Well, I’ll take you wherever you want to go, okay?” She pauses and Blue nods. 

||_You’re wonderfully kind, Yellow._||

The blonde flushes. “Yes, well, on that note, um. Do you want to continue our conversation from yesterday?”

Blue’s eyes widen slightly, but she nods. Yellow places her free hand on the phantom’s shoulder, knowing that she would likely want to wring her hands together. Blue seems grateful for the gesture, and her hands assume the position. 

||_I suppose I should begin, as I was the one to bring it up._||

She said, hesitantly. 

Yellow shakes her head. “I have some things to say, as well. If it’ll make you feel any better, I can go first.”

||_No, I think I need to get it out. Is that okay?_||

The blonde nodded. 

Blue sighs, her whole body seeming to droop. She looks down at her twisted hands before beginning. 

||_I think that I like you. I’ve never wished to have a body so badly before. I just want to hug you, you look so warm and cute...oh Yellow, why are you so cute?_||

She looks up, tears in her eyes. Yellow smiles back at her and feels her cheeks begin to heat up. She opens her mouth, but the phantom rushes on.

||_I think about you all the time. It’s like you’re my ghost. I just can’t get you out of my mind, and I don’t understand. It’s illogical. I can’t be with you; I don’t have a body. I’m not a real woman, and I doubt you’d even want to be with a woman hundreds of years older than you anyways._||

Blue was crying openly now, and her emotions were swirling around the room. Although there was no blue light yet, Yellow felt tears prickle in her own eyes. Her heart ached for the spirit, who had obviously spent many hours dwelling on this. 

“Blue, I like you, too,” she blurts out before she can stop herself. Her face reddens as she puts her spoon down. Looking straight into Blue’s eyes, she continues, her voice steady, “You’re so nice to everyone. I love that about you. And you’re so beautiful, I think about you all the time, too. I think about how it would feel to run my hands through your hair and touch your cheeks and kiss your lips. You make this adorable pout you make when you’re thinking hard about something. I would do so much for you already, and I know I barely know you. I want to know you, Azurea. And you don’t need a body for that. Even if all this fails and we can’t get your physical form back, we can still spend time together.”

Yellow watches Blue’s eyes widen and her jaw go slack as she talks. She feels such a rush of adoration towards the white haired woman. Almost unconsciously, she leans closer, putting one of her hands through Blue’s twisted arms. The phantom untwines them, laying one on top of Yellow’s. 

||_I don’t know what to say…_||

“I don’t know if there’s anything to say. I would kiss you now, if I could,” Yellow says bashfully. 

Blue’s eyes pierce her soul.

||_Do it anyways._||

She leans in, conflicted on whether she should keep her eyes open, with her gaze lost in azure eyes, or if she should close them. Instinct wins, and she feels her eyes closing. 

Somehow, Yellow knows the exact moment their lips would have touched. She holds her body still, leaned over the table. 

Just when she’s about to open her eyes, a blue light bathes the room. But instead of crushing sadness, she feels unbridled exaltation and fondness. She pulls her body back as her eyes fly open. 

Yellow looks around, not seeing the spirit. It’s a moment until Blue places a hand on her shoulder again. She looks into the face before her, flushed a deep indigo. “That was amazing.”

||_I, um, might have gotten carried away. I’ve never kissed anyone before._||

“It was amazing,” Yellow repeats with a grin.

||_Do you really mean that?_||

Blue’s voice is unsure, and she looks down to hide her embarrassment. 

“It was. And you know what? Now I get to tell Connie she was right about you being gay,” Yellow says laughing.

||_What does that mean? Gay?_||

“It, uh, means someone who likes people of the same gender. Well, it’s actually a bit more complicated than that, but I just meant that you like women.” The blonde shrugs awkwardly. “We can talk more about it later if you want.”

The look on Blue’s face told Yellow she wasn’t even aware that there might be anything unusual about their attraction. Yellow didn’t have the heart to tell her that even when she had her body back, their relationship would be seen as strange to some people. That was a discussion for later. 

||_There’s a lot I don’t know._||

Yellow wasn’t sure what the phantom was referring to, but she felt patience in her heart, a quality she didn’t usually possess. “What don’t you know? I’ll tell you if I know the answers.”

Blue sighs. 

||_I don’t know._||

But Yellow only laughs. “It’s okay not to know. I don’t really know much either. I’ve never been in a relationship before. We can figure things out together.”

||_I would like that._||

“I would, too. I’ve got a class to teach soon, unfortunately.” Another short laugh. “I never thought there would come a day where I actually just want to stay home from work! But maybe we can keep talking when I get back? We can also call my sister again. She’s got a break from school soon, and if I can get some time off too, we can go find the witch.”

The phantom is still. She takes a few moments to process Yellow’s words before carefully replying.

||_Yes, of course I will be here when you return from work. I am surprised that you and Connie are moving so quickly. I know that we discussed getting my body back, but I wasn’t expecting the search to begin so quick._||

“Well, as you know, Connie isn’t the type to wait for things. She’s really excited about this, and I am too. It’ll be fun,” Yellow reassures her as stands up. “I”ll talk to you when I get back, okay?”

Yellow places her dishes in the sink, filling them with water. She grabs her coat and her bag, and puts on her shoes. But before she walks out the door, she stops and calls out, “Blue? Are you still here?”

Blue simply places her hand on Yellow’s shoulders. The blonde blushes, and gives her a quick peck on the cheek. “Have a good day,” she says shyly.

||_You as well._||

Her voice is a nearly a whisper as she watches the other woman leave. She stands there, holding one hand up to her flushed cheek for several minutes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! (And hopefully you're not in sugar comatose.)


	12. Discussion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie calls with some big news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, we're getting down to business now. Sorry it took so long, the next chapter will be here faster!

Yellow was in the middle of her intermediate level class when her phone began to ring and wouldn’t stop. After beginning her students on the next series of movements, she quickly excused herself, cursing herself for forgetting to turn it on silent. 

When she finally made it to the offending device, she saw dozens of missed calls and messages from her sister. Frowning, she opened the phone’s menu, only for another incoming call to fill the screen.

“What’s going on?” the blonde says, trying not to raise her voice.

“Finally! I was worried you were dead or something.” Connie’s voice is teasing.

“I’m in the middle of a class,” Yellow hisses, her temper rising.

“Oh. I’m sorry.” Connie’s voice deflates. 

Yellow sighs. “If this isn’t an emergency, I’ll call you back when class is over, okay?” 

“Wait! It’s big news about Mission Blue, I just got a little carried away and forgot you had classes. Call me as soon as it’s over okay?”

The line goes dead. Yellow lets out another sigh, trying to calm her nerves. Part of her wanted to be upset with her sister for interrupting her lesson, and another part wanted to call her right back and demand and update. 

But a gentle hum of voices from the other side of the studio brought her focus back. Yellow placed her phone back in her bag and carefully arranged her face back into its passive resting position. She still had a class to teach.

…

After the last student had left for the day, Yellow was tasked with cleaning the studio. She grabbed her phone and dialed Connie as she grabbed a broom. As she listened to the ringing, she wiped a bead of sweat from her brow.

“Yellow!” Connie’s voice was bright.

“Hey, Cons. I’m all done for the day. What did you want to talk about?” 

“Yes, Mission Blue. I thought we needed a cool code name for it.”

The blonde snorted. “That’s silly.”

“Oh come on! This is the coolest thing I’ve done in years. It might be the most awesome thing I’ve ever done in my life. Aren’t you at least a little excited?”

“I am!” Yellow insisted, sweeping her broom hard. “I’ll do all I can to help Blue.”

Connie giggled. “Oh, I know you will. You and her are so going to get together, I can feel it.”

“We kind of already are,” Yellow muttered under her breath before speaking louder. “Anyway, I thought you had some big news?”

“Yes, huge news.” Connie’s voice suddenly turns serious. “I think we should go look for the witch this weekend.”

Yellow stops mid sweep. “This weekend? As in tomorrow?”

“Yes. My Friday lecture was cancelled, and I know you get off work early. Plus, Monday is a holiday! That gives us three and a half days.”

“Connie. We don’t have anything to offer her. We don’t have a plan, we don’t even have part of a plan!” Yellow placed the broom back in its spot and began to pace. 

“Give me some credit, Yellow. I have a plan. A whole plan.”

“What?” Yellow stopped her pacing. “How could you have a plan? I just talked to you yesterday and we had no solid ideas!”

“Give me some credit! Now do you want to hear the plan or not?” 

Yellow sighed. “Yes, of course. What is it?”

“We agree to work for her.” 

“What!?” The blonde nearly yelled. “That’s a terrible idea!”

“Okay, ouch? Hear me out. The witch uses the bodies she takes for work right? Well surely two workers are better than just one body! Three even, if Blue agrees. Don’t you think that’s a fair trade? Three for the price of one!”

“Connie, this witch is crazy though! She steals bodies and brings people back from the dead. I don’t think she’d agree to something so simple. Besides, even if she does agree, she’d probably have us do awful things like skin animals for their flesh and bones or something. Not to mention, Blue would never allow this. You know she’s already hesitant to let us do this for her.” 

There was a moment of silence on the phone. In the seconds that passed, there was enough to make Yellow regret her outburst. But just as she opened her mouth to apologize, Connie spoke again. 

“I found a photo of her daughter.”

“I’m--What?”

“A photo. It’s a black and white photo, I don’t even know how it was taken, but I found it in a book. There was a handwritten note that said that it was 'the lost treasure’. I don’t know what that means. But I think it’s important. The book I found it in, it was in the sports section, with another cover. But when I opened it, this picture fell out. I think we can use it as a bargaining piece.”

Yellow grabbed her bag, holding her phone on her shoulder. “Cons, this is kind of a big deal.”

“I know! That’s why I kept calling you!”

The blonde walked out the door to her studio, locking the door behind her. The winter wind was chilling, but she barely noticed. A fire burned in her mind as her thoughts raced. She tried to think of more questions to ask, but all of her thoughts ended up at the same place. She needed to talk to Blue. 

“Okay, I am walking home now. I’ll talk to Blue about this and tell her we have something the witch might want.”

“Yes that’s a good idea. You should fill her in before I get there. I’ll be there in about an hour, and we can all talk this through before leaving.”

Yellow nearly tripped. “Excuse me? In an hour?”

Connie laughed. “Yeah, you’re off work now, right? We can leave as soon as I get there! I bought us bus tickets at 10pm. It’s late, but that was the cheapest time so bring snacks and some coffee!”

Instead of giving into the rising panic at her throat, Yellow laughed. “I can’t believe we’re doing this! We haven’t even found out if Blue can leave with us! This is insane.”

“I have a theory for how to bring Blue. Just wait until I get there okay? That way I can tell you both at the same time.”

The line clicked. Yellow sighed, running a hand through her hair, fingers crunching through the gel she used. She was still wearing her gi, things had been too intense to stop to change. She quickened her pace, just wanting to get home to Blue and think through this whirlwind of information.

_I suppose it’s better this way,_ she thought wryly, _I don’t even have time to overthink._

Walking back to her apartment was normally a quick walk, but she managed to come in half of her usual time, a record. 

Once stepping through the doorway, she flung her bag down and called out to the spirit, “Blue, are you here? Azurea?” Then, she muttered to herself, “Please be here, I don’t want to walk through the apartment complex calling for you.”

||_Is something the matter, Yellow?_||

The blonde couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face at the gentle voice. She stuck her arms out as she walked into the room. “You’re here!”

Blue appeared at her side, a hand placed on her right shoulder. She nodded.

||_Yes, I said I would be here when you arrived. You are a few minutes early._||

“Oh, I’m sorry. You did say that. It’s just that Connie called and…” Yellow hesitated. She didn’t want to scare the phantom, who had already voiced her worries at their rapid planning. 

Slender fingers raised up to brush against her cheek. 

||_What is it? Your hair is slightly mussed, is something troubling you?_||

Yellow flushes, running her hands through her hair once more. “I guess you picked up on that nervous habit,” she said with a laugh. 

The spirit gave her a small smile, her blue eyes seemed to glow. For a moment, Yellow lost herself in those eyes. 

Almost unconsciously, she blurted out, “Connie is coming in an hour and we’re leaving to find the witch tonight.”

Blue recoiled in shock, her hands flying to her cover her open mouth with a gasp. Yellow panicked, throwing her arms out, as if to embrace her. “No, Blue wait!” she cried, cursing herself for not being so direct.

After a few moments, Blue spoke, her voice slightly shaking and muffled from behind her fingers. 

||_I’m sorry. This is all so sudden and Connie is coming and we’re leaving tonight? How am I going to come?_||

Tears began to slip from cerulean eyes and Yellow felt her heart twist. She wrapped her arms around Blue’s apparition, hoping that the gesture would provide some form of comfort. “It’s okay, Connie has a plan. She has something that we can trade the witch for your body. We can do this.”

Blue was silent. The blonde watched as tears streamed down her face. _She looks so beautiful,_ she thought to herself, feeling her cheeks warm. 

When Blue finally spoke, her words were slightly slurred, and they came tumbling out of her mouth. Her panic was clear, and Yellow moved a hand to her head, wishing she could stroke the silvery strands that floated around her. 

||_I don’t want you to get hurt because of me, the witch is so powerful, she might not want to give it back, I don’t want to anger her, you and Connie are going through all this for me, I’m not worth all the trouble, and oh, why are you looking at me like that?_||

The glowing eyes disappeared as Blue covered her face. She was trembling, and her hair whipped around her. Suddenly, a blue light washed over the room. 

Tears gathered in Yellows eyes as she fought the rising wave of panic. “Blue! Blue, slow down!” she nearly yelled.

Luckily, the shout got the spirit’s attention, and a glance at the tears in Yellow’s eyes dissipated the blue aura. 

||_I’m sorry._||

Blue wrapped her arms around herself, sinking down to the floor. She hugged her knees to her chest.

Yellow looked at her, her gaze still intense. In those seconds, Blue felt as if her skin was burning, and just when she thought she couldn’t take it for another moment, the blond spoke. 

“You are worth it. I would do so much for you. I lo--” Yellow choked and cleared her throat before continuing, “I like you a lot. We’re going to do this, and no one will get hurt. I’m a good fighter, and besides, we have something she might want. We have a picture of her daughter.”

Cobalt eyes widened. 

||_A photograph? How is that possible? There were no cameras back then._||

The thin woman shrugged. “I don’t know. Connie found it. She can probably explain more when she gets here. I just wanted to tell you before she comes.”

Blue nodded, taking deep breaths. 

“Will you be alright?” Yellow asked softly.

||_Yes...I’m sorry for my outburst._||

“You don’t need to be sorry for your emotions, Blue. I know we’re moving quickly. I didn’t even know we were leaving so soon. Connie told me about the plan when I was walking home from work. She can be infuriatingly impulsive sometimes.”

To her relief, Blue laughed. She grinned back, savoring the beautiful sound. 

||_My sister was often rash too, always making plans at the last minute. But there’s beauty in that, as well, a chaotic beauty._||

Stars began to form in Yellow’s eyes as she gazed into Blue’s. “You’re so wise,” she said solemnly, reverently. 

This earned her another laugh, and pride blossomed in her chest at the accomplishment. Almost without thinking, she leaned in to plant a kiss on the spirit’s lips.

But then the door swung open, and the two jerked apart, flushing as they looked to Connie standing in the doorway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	13. Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Connie arrives and the girls get ready to leave on their mission.

“Uh, am I interrupting something?” For once, Connie’s voice was devoid of its usual teasing manner.

Yellow looked at Blue, noting her deeply flushed cheeks and wished for a split second that she was also invisible. “No, Blue and I were just…” 

“You guys finally talked about your feelings?” Now a devilish grin had spread across the dark haired woman. 

Surprisingly, it put Yellow at ease. She glared at her sister. “Shut up.” 

||_Hello, Connie._||

“Blue!” Connie’s face lit up, and she turned to face the direction of the voice. “Did Yellow tell you about our plan?” 

||_She did. Are...are you sure this is safe?_||

“Nope!” Another cheeky grin.

Yellow shoots her a look. “What Connie means to say is that we’ll be careful, but it could get dangerous. We’re going to be very careful though.”

||_Alright._||

The word is spoken like a sigh. She looks to Connie, still smiling widely, and back to Yellow who is looking at her with an intense stare. 

“Wanna see the picture I found?” 

Both Yellow and Blue nod.

“I found this in a book with a note that said it is ‘the lost treasure’. The book was misfiled and had a different book cover. I only found it because there was a note in another book that said 613.71. I took a chance and checked that section in the library, Dewey Decimal System and all that. This was in a book in that section. It was blank other than the photo.”

Connie pulls out a manilla envelope and carefully takes a small slip of paper out. It’s the size of her palm. The three crowd around, taking in the girl in the photo. 

A young woman stares back at them, probably no more than 20. Although the picture is otherwise dark, the woman has a light quality to her. It’s grainy and blurry, but the woman’s eyes seem to glow. They’re wide open, under heavy lashes and dark lids. Thin eyebrows are partially raised, two squiggly lines across her face. Her full lips are parted slightly and she looks scared. Her hair, curly and wild, sticks up, tufts of it pointing upwards and outwards. 

“Wow.” Yellow says after a moment.

“Intense right?” Connie answers. “I wonder what she’s thinking. And who took the photo and why. We’ll just have to ask the witch!”

Blue puts a finger on the photo, to stroke the woman’s cheek. Something about the look in the woman’s eyes made her heart clench. 

Connie’s careful hold on the picture had loosened while she spoke, and the paper fluttered to the ground. 

Without thinking, Blue reached down to pick it up. 

Brown and amber eyes watch as the picture moves from the floor, back towards Connie’s outstretched hands. 

Connie gasps. “What is that photo?” she breathes.

Blue’s response comes out quickly, her fear ringing in her voice.

||_I don’t know! It’s just--it’s just the woman, she’s so scared. I can almost feel her fear...it’s overwhelming._||

“Maybe we should put the picture away,” Yellow suggests, placing a hand on the phantom’s shoulder. With her other, she gingerly takes the photo from Blue’s loose grip, handing it back to her sister, who puts it back in the envelope. 

“Okay, well this is new information. Blue can interact with things that have to do with the witch. Maybe it’s a magical item? Or maybe because she took your body, you’re somehow bound to her and can touch her things? I wish we had more time to experiment with this stuff. Oh man, do you think the witch would answer some questions when we find her?” Connie rambled on, her words tumbling out on top of one another. 

“Provided we don’t need to kick her ass,” Yellow retorts.

||_How will I join you on the journey there?_||

Blue’s gentle voice brought the two sisters back to reality. Connie’s confidence seemed to wane. 

“This is a stretch because I know you’re not really a ghost. I was reading about how to transport ghosts, and there’s actually not much on the subject. Mostly just how to exorcise them. Which we are technically doing, since you’ll hopefully stop being a ghost when we come back. But once source said that one of the reasons a ghost haunts a place is because it’s emotionally significant. Because you’re not dead, I thought it was the best explanation for why you stay here,” Connie said, her eyes searching the air where Blue would be. 

||_I suppose this could be true. I followed a woman who resembled my sister. She lived here._||

“That’s great!” Connie said excitedly. “It’s perfect! Can you follow Yellow?” 

||_”What?”_|| Yellow and Blue ask in unison.

Connie rolls her eyes. “Okay, we can get more into this later, but it’s clear that you two care a lot about each other. I think your connection should be enough to bring Blue along.”

“Shouldn’t we have tested this before? We’re about to leave and if Blue can’t come, then we’ve wasted the money on the bus tickets,” Yellow says, trying to ignore the way the spirit was looking at her. 

||_I think it will work._||

“Great! See? Problem solved!” Connie says, shooting the two a thumbs up. 

Yellow’s cheeks redden. “Okay, well good, one less problem.”

“Now, let’s go over the rest of the plan, okay?” Connie says, taking a seat at the table. Yellow follows suit, and they began their discussion.

…

After two hours, the three had were all caught up with their plan. It was simple, the picture giving them confidence in their bargain. 

There was much speculation over what exactly the picture was. Connie thought that it could be used as part of a potion to bring back the witch’s daughter. Yellow thought it was a fake photograph, but the strange hiding spot was enough to admit it was probably something important. Blue knew it was some strong magic. Only she had an idea of the photo’s real significance. 

...

By the time it was time to go, the three were casually chatting. Yellow and Connie were making sandwiches and snacks for the trip, and Yellow had packed a small overnight bag. None of them knew how long it would take, but they wanted to be prepared. 

Just before they left, Yellow rushed into her room, to retrieve something from her closet. 

“What is that?” Connie asked, eyeing the long object in her sister’s strong grip.

The blonde woman flushed, but a determined glint shone in her eyes. “It’s a katana.”

“Why do you have that? And how are we going to take it in the bus with us? They’re going to ask questions if you show up wielding a deadly weapon,” Connie said pointedly.

But Yellow just zipped it up in her duffle bag, its oblong shape just long enough for the sword to fit inside. A bump appeared on each size, stretching the thick fabric tightly. 

“Where’d you even get that? Last I checked you don’t teach sword fighting in your classes,” the dark haired woman asked.

“No, I don’t. It was a gift from Sensei.” Yellow hoisted her bag over her shoulders. “Let’s get going. We don’t want to miss the bus.”

The two sisters began to step out of the apartment, shoulder to shoulder. A quiet voice halted their steps.

||_Wait._||

“Blue?” Yellow asked, her eyes sweeping the dim apartment. At some point during their discussion, she had moved away from Yellow, breaking their contact. Yellow held out an arm, waiting for Blue to reappear. 

When the phantom flashed into sight, Yellow saw her gripping her hand tightly. She looked scared, her thin eyebrows arching upwards and her cobalt blue eyes widened. Yellow’s face softened. “Hey, it’s okay. We’re doing this together, we’ll be here the whole time. I’ll be here with you.”

The white haired woman nodded, tears slipping down her cheeks. 

“You can hold my hand the whole way there, okay? I won’t let go of you. Or you know what I mean,” Yellow finished with a chuckle, squeezing her hand. It closed into a fist.

||_Okay. Okay. I’m ready._||

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!


	14. Embarking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our trio heads into the forest to begin their search.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are solidly in the heart of this fic! Only a few more chapters now.

Despite the somewhat rough start, the trio boarded the bus without any further incidents. Because it was late, the bus was nearly empty, giving them room to stretch out. They had three hours to their destination, to Monterey. 

Connie took up a row to herself, spreading her legs across the seat next to her. She had brought her headphones, and was listening to music with her eyes closed. 

Yellow was seated next to the window, with Blue beside her. She was looking out the window, watching the scenery as it zoomed past. One hand rested on the windowsill, a hand bent under her chin. The other lay on the seat next to her, fallen through the phantom’s lap. 

||_Did you tell Pearl and Jasper you are leaving?_||

The blonde started at the sudden question. She frowned. “No, I haven’t. To be honest, I haven’t even thought about them, with how sudden all this came.”

||_Will you message them?_||

“That’s probably a good idea,” Yellow said as she pulled out her phone and typed a quick message to her friends. She tilted the screen to Blue, showing the sent message. 

||_Thank you._||

Yellow studies Blue’s profile for a moment. “You might be the nicest person I’ve ever met,” she says after a while.

||_What?_||

Blue turns her head, looking straight into Yellow’s amber eyes. 

Yellow feels herself melt under the intensity. “Nice. You--you’re really nice. Kind. You’re always looking out for me.”

The phantom turns her gaze down to her hands, twisted together. Yellow’s hand sticks through Blue’s and she watches as her fingers twist around her own. 

||_You and Connie are doing so much for me. Even before we embarked on this journey, when we only spoke, I was so grateful for you. You listened to me, cared about me. I’ve never felt that way before. I only want to return that care for you. You’re so important to me, Yellow._||

Tears began to prickle in Yellow’s eyes, and she had to quickly blink them away. Blue didn’t notice, her head now bowed down after her confession, her silvery hair obstructing her face from view. 

“Well, you’re important to me as well. I’m grateful to have met you. I’d be lying if I said I don’t feel the same.” 

Blue looked back to her, a lock of her hair still falling in front of one eye. She was silent, and Yellow offered her a small smile back. Blue’s lips curved up. 

...

The remainder of the bus ride was spent in silence, both Yellow and Connie having fallen asleep. The two stirred gently, before looking out the window, to the lush forest next to the road. 

“Okay, well I got us a motel room. It’s right down the street, we can sleep there for the night,” Connie informed them. 

The room was tiny, with only enough room for two small beds. The two sisters quickly changed into night clothes and settled into the beds. 

“Wait,” Yellow said, suddenly sitting up.

“Just go to sleep, Yellow. We have a lot to do tomorrow,” Connie replied sleepily. 

Ignoring her, Yellow looked around the room. “Blue, will you be alright for the night?”

||_Yes._||

Yellow turned towards the voice. “Good.”

||_Your sister is right, you should sleep._||

“See? Your ghost girlfriend agrees with me,” Connie muttered, already half asleep.

“Connie!” Yellow yelped, flushing. She laid back down, pulling the thin blanket up. She closed her eyes, tiredness suddenly overwhelming her.

||_Goodnight._||

The spirit’s gentle voice was the last thing she heard before she drifted to sleep.

...

Yellow woke up early, before the alarm that she and Connie had set. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Blue?” she whisper-yelled.

||_Good morning, Yellow._||

Grinning at the gentle voice, Yellow stuck out an arm. “How did you sleep? Or, wait, do you sleep?”

Blue couldn’t help the giggle that burst out of her lips as she laid her hand on Yellow’s outstretched arm. The blonde looked adorably confused, with her short hair sticking up and laying flat in all the places it normally didn’t. 

Yellow’s grin widened, and she gazed into cerulean eyes. Once Blue got her breath under control, she answered softly.

||_I don’t sleep, no. Not since I lost my form._||

The grin faded from Yellow’s lips. “Are you tired?”

||_No, not physically. I have no body to require sleep._||

“That makes sense,” Yellow responded before asking, “What do you do during the night?”

||_Most nights I visit the residents in the apartment building. Mr. Peterson, for example, watches TV until late, then Joy, in apartment 15 comes home from her night shift. If no one is up, I like to sit near the stairs, by the window, and look outside._||

“You don’t watch anyone sleep?” Yellow asks teasingly.

||_Of course not._||

The sincerity in the spirit’s voice surprised her. “You’re very considerate.”

||_I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy...any more than I already do._||

Yellow studied Blue, who had a faraway look on her face. She thought about the thousands of nights she must have endured, waiting for the residents to wake up. 

||_Last night, I went to the edge of the forest. It’s so close. I can feel the witch, I can feel her power._||

Blue’s voice broke Yellow’s reverie. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. In a few hours, you might have a physical form again. Are you excited?”

||_Yes._||

The spirit admitted, guilt clear in her eyes and her voice. 

Yellow leaned to her, placing a kiss to her cheek. “I can’t wait to kiss you, and hug you.”

Cerulean eyes opened wide, surprised at Yellow’s confession. A blue blush crept across her cheeks and her mouth opened wordlessly. 

Luckily for her, the alarm began to beep, saving her from having to speak. In the other bed, Connie stirred, sitting up. 

A chuckle from Yellow made Connie squint at her suspiciously. “What’s so funny?”

“Oh, nothing. Come, we have a witch to find!” Yellow said, getting out of bed.

Connie huffed, but to Yellow’s relief, didn’t say anything. 

…

Once they were standing at the edge of the forest, everyone’s nerves were a bit tense. Even Connie, who was usually the most optimistic of the three, was subdued.

Yellow, with her heart pounding was the first to plunge in. Her eyes burned with a fierce determination. 

||_Wait._||

Blue’s voice stopped the blonde midstep. “It’s okay, Blue. We want to do this for you.”

“Yeah, and even if we’re a little scared and unsure, we’re going to do this together.” Connie’s voice was strong, determination creeping in. 

||_Will you at least let me go first? I can call out if there’s danger, I don’t think I can be harmed by physical objects or beings._||

“But if we find the witch, she’ll definitely be able to harm you!” Yellow protested.

||_Please let me do this for you. I would feel terrible if something happened to either of you._||

“Okay,” Yellow reluctantly agreed, “But I’ll be just behind you, okay? I brought this sword, and I can fight, remember?”

Blue nodded and they were on their way. 

The forest was thick, as thick as Blue remembered it that night all those years ago. This time, she wasn’t alone and no one was dying. Beautiful plants were growing and blooming even though it was winter. It would be pleasant, if she wasn’t so scared.

They walked for a few hours, stopping to take breaks along the way. Connie had divided the forest into a grid on her map so that they could cover the area more effectively, and so that they wouldn’t get lost. 

During one of their breaks, Blue spoke, worry etched deeply on her face. 

||_Maybe we should go back, it’s getting late and we shouldn’t be out once it gets dark._||

“It’s only three! Why don’t we give it another hour and then we can turn around,” Connie suggests. 

||_Alright. I don’t know if we’ll find it. The people in my village once said she only appears when someone is willing to pay the price. We only have something to barter with, maybe she won’t appear._||

“Well, maybe it’s just a legend. Besides, the people in the stories I found didn’t have to pay the price,” Connie said shrugging. 

Yellow listened to them talk. Connie was retelling the stories she found, and Blue was picking them apart. Her mind drifted off to the lush forest around them, taking in their surroundings. _If Blue doesn’t have a body, she can’t pay the price. Does the price have to be a body?_

The blonde looked to Blue, who was sitting on a fallen tree in between herself and Connie. Their shoulders overlapped, and Yellow studied the back of her head, watching her silver hair sway slightly when she nodded. Taking a deep breath, she steeled her mind. 

_I am willing to pay the price. For Blue. I would do anything so that she doesn’t have to suffer anymore._

As soon as the thought left her head, a flash of blinding light began to grow around them. All three squinted, trying to see what was inside. After what felt like hours, the light began to fade, leaving a rickety wooden hut in front of them, with the door slightly ajar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	15. White

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio finds the witch.

It was just as she remembered it. From the rotting wood, to the twine bound door, and the buzz of energy, it was exactly the same. Blue studied the small hut, lost in her own memories. 

“Shall we go in?” Connie’s voice shook the fog away.

||_I should go first._||

Blue stepped forward, walking towards the open door. Yellow rushed behind her, hand on the katana. Connie follows last, holding up her map like a weapon.

When Blue reaches the hut, she pushes at the door, but her arm goes through it. She phases through the door, letting Yellow open it behind her. It’s dim inside, the only light coming from the now open door.

The three crowd inside. It’s small, barely enough room for all of them. Yellow sticks her arm through Blue, shooting her a comforting look, her other hand unsheathing the sword. 

“Where is she?” Connie whispers to the other two. Yellow shakes her head and shrugs. 

||_When I was here before, she was behind the shelves._||

Blue points to the massive shelf in the middle of the room, now filled with even more vials and containers than last time. She squints, looking in between the items, her cerulean eyes glowing in the dark. 

“Should we go behind there?” Yellow says, keeping her voice low.

But before Connie or Blue can answer, a white haired woman steps out from behind. “Why are we whispering, dearies?”

The woman was just as Blue remembered, too. It was as if she had stepped out of her memories, the centuries having left her untouched. Her papery skin still held deep grooves, her figure still skeletal thin. And her eyes, what had always stuck out the most in Blue’s memory, were just as bright and glowing as they had been that day. 

||_I came because...we need to talk. White._||

Blue began boldly, her voice strong and determined. She took another step forward, the hand Yellow stuck out to stop her unnoticed.

She watched as the witch’s thin painted eyebrows slanted downwards. “And what do we need to talk about, _Azurea?_” Her name was spat out, as if her single sentence had offended White deeply. 

“We came to get her body back!” Yellow’s voice boomed across the room. 

White’s grey eyes flicked to the blonde.

“Ah it’s you. The little knight in shining armor,” the witch’s voice turned to honey, sickly sweet. “The one who is willing to pay the price.”

||_What?_||

The spirit gasped, twisting around. 

Connie placed a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “Yellow, what are you doing?”

“I…” Yellow looked between Connie and Blue before meeting White’s eyes. “I’ll do anything, just give her her body back! She’s suffered enough!”

“Well, well, this is exciting. You love her, don’t you? You think you can defeat me with your little sword, and get your lover back?” The witch’s words were teasing, and a predatory grin spread across her face. Fast as lightning, she flung out a hand, white light beaming from her outstretched palm.

Yellow, a seasoned fighter, dodged the hit. She ducked, and the beam hit the wood behind her, making a dull thud. Raising her sword, she centered her body, bending her knees to keep herself limber. 

||_Stop it! Leave her alone!_|| 

Blue shrieked, moving to stand in front of the blonde. 

White’s grin widened and she opened her eyes wider, the whites of her eyes clearly visible. One look and Blue felt her body turn stiff. She tried to move, but her body was stuck. She began to scream, panic rising in her chest. Her eyes moved wildly, the rest of her body a statue. 

“Wait, we have--” Connie began, reaching into her bag.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?” Yellow’s voice interrupted, hard with fury. She raised her sword, dashing to older woman, striking her across the shoulder. The tip of her sword cut through the sheer material of the witch’s dress.

“Oh, so we’re not going to play nicely, are we?” White said, her voice still teasing, but with a hint of anger. She raised her hands, light growing in them again. This time, she sent out bolts, making Yellow twist and turn to avoid being hit. 

One of the bolts grazed the fighter’s knee, causing her to fall to the ground with a grunt. Blue could only watch in horror as White approached her fallen form, glowing hands raised high.

“WAIT!!!” Connie yells, stopping the witch. Her hands stay where they are, the light flowing around them like water. 

Connie steps around her sister, holding out the picture in her hand. “We came to trade. We’ll give you this, if you give Blue’s body back. And then we’ll leave. No more fighting.” 

The light disappears from White’s hands. She puts them down, looking at the photograph. A surprised look flashes through her face for a moment before her eyes narrow. “Give it to me,” she hisses.

Connie grips the paper tighter. “Give Blue her body back first. Then you get the photo.”

A grin sweeps back across the witch’s face. She moves her hands, beckoning in the air. The wooden door is flung open, and Blue’s body walks in. Unlike the frozen spirit, the body looks young, no lines under its eyes or silver hairs. The body’s eyes are wide open, but instead of cobalt blue irises, dull grey ones look out, unseeing. 

“Now the picture.” White’s voice was low, menacing. 

Connie handed it over, her hand slightly shaking. The witch laughs, an empty sound. “Fine, keep the body. I have others.”

As she moves to step back behind the shelves, Yellow stands in front of her, favoring her uninjured leg. “You have to unfreeze her and put her back in her body!”

“That wasn’t part of the deal, now was it?” White says, her eyes wide in faux innocence. It takes all of Yellow’s strength not to plunge her sword through the thin woman. 

“That’s unfair!” the blonde growls.

White only shrugs and says flippantly, “Sorry, dearie.”

It’s enough to trigger the anger in Yellow’s mind. She jumps forward, slamming the witch’s body into the rotting wood wall. She moves to bring her sword up, but the witch flings out light, pushing Yellow back. 

She begins to laugh. “You can’t best me, and your silly little sword can’t hurt me.”

Yellow snarls, the fire in her amber eyes burning. She takes her mind back to her days as a child, fighting in the underground rinks. People would yell and taunt her, just like the witch was now. She steels her nerves, forcing herself to keep her anger tightly under control, a powerful weapon she had learned to control. 

The blonde digs in her heels, resisting the blast. She begins to walk back to the witch, each step like moving through molasses. It takes her five steps to make it back to White, who was now shrouded in light. Yellow squints, plunging her swords blindly into the middle of the light. 

For a moment, there’s no movement, no sound. Even the light seems to freeze. 

Connie begins to cheer. “Yeah, you got this Yellow! Take her down!”

“_That’s ENOUGH!_” White yells and the whole room is bathed in a blinding light. 

Connie, Yellow, and Blue are pushed back against the walls. Blue, still frozen begins to cry, tears streaming down her face. 

Seeing her tears, Connie calls out to her, “Blue! You have pathokinesis, can you use it now?” 

||_No! Maybe? I-I don’t know!_||

Blue said, concentrating. 

_I don’t know how to do this! I’m stuck, I can’t move my limbs and Yellow and Connie are in trouble and it’s all my fault. Oh, why did I agree to this, it’s too dangerous._

As her thoughts spiral into despair, a blue light begins to pulse, pushing out the white. At first, it doesn’t seem like it will reach the source of the bright light, her own azure shine gently pushing forwards. But then tears appear in her friends’ eyes as they are pushed against the wall, moans of pain beginning to form in their throats. 

Seeing her friends, the ones who listened to her, helped her, the woman she loves, was enough. Blue grit her teeth, took a deep breath, and began to scream.

||_NO! I WON’T LET YOU TAKE THEM AWAY TOO, YOU...YOU **WENCH!**_||

Even though her body stayed frozen in place, her long, silvery white hair began to whip around her. The blue light began to push out the white, and soon the whole room was bathed in blue. 

White, finally visible, dropped to the ground, her eyes now streaming with Blue’s tears. She tried to speak, but could only choke out. Beside her, Connie and Yellow began to sob.

The blue light disappeared instantly. 

||_Oh no, no, no! I’m sorry! I didn’t meant to!_||

“Pathetic! You are nothing!” The witch recovered first, blasting the spirit with her powers. She fell over, a searing pain growing over form. 

“Yellow! Get the witch, I’ll grab Blue’s body, we gotta get out of here!” Connie called to her sister.

With the witch occupied with Blue’s spirit form, Connie grabbed her physical one, the thin woman was easy to pick up. It looked back with lifeless grey eyes, but there was no time to dwell on it. 

The blonde, with all her muscles aching from the attack, grunted as she moved forwards once more. This time, she would hit her mark. She raised her sword over her head, bringing it down on the witch’s head. 

It made a sickening crack on contact with her head, slipping through her spiky white hair. Yellow grinned and sprung back, landing solidly on two feet. 

White screeched, raising a hand, light gathering around her fingers. 

That’s when Yellow saw the picture, still held tight in her other hand. The woman in the picture, still wearing a terrified expression, seemed to be beckoning her. Yellow had an idea. 

Running at the witch, she jabbed her sword at the witch’s outstretched hand above, sliding on her knees until she was behind the woman. She jumped up, plucking the photo from skeletal fingers.

“Unfreeze her and put her back in her body or I will stick my sword through this picture.” Yellow’s voice cut through Blue’s crying and Connie’s shouting. Her amber eyes burned with anger, ready to be unleashed. 

White’s eyes narrowed, her thin eyebrows coming together . “I don’t care about that miserable daughter of mine.”

“It’s a bluff!” Connie yelled. “Do it!”

Blue begins to yell.

||_It’s her daughter, it’s her daughter, she’s in there!_||

But Yellow doesn’t hear any of it, her focus on the witch in front of her. Without breaking eye contact, she plunges her sword into the picture. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!


	16. Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An important piece of White's past is uncovered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this chapter is intense and very emotional. You've been warned.

A piercing scream sounded, nearly bursting Yellow’s eardrums. She whipped her head around, looking at the picture in her hand. Red liquid was pouring out, streaming down from the tip of her sword. She gasped and opened her hand, but the picture stayed impaled on her sword. 

The scream wasn’t coming from the picture. It was coming from the witch. Yellow turned towards the noise, catching a glimpse of the pale woman before she fell to her knees. Her whole face was reddened from the intensity of her howl. Her black painted lips were parted in the scream, her eyes squeezed shut. 

Time seemed to slow as Yellow turned to Blue, who had fallen to the ground, seemingly in control of her spirit form. She then looked to her sister, with huge round eyes behind her rose colored glasses. 

Then, something moving in her peripherals caught her attention. Twisting around once more, she found herself face to face with another woman. 

It was the woman in the picture, standing bent over with the tip of her sword embedded in her shoulder. Her curly brown hair was wild, locks draping over her face. 

All Yellow could do was gape. The woman, whose face was once open with fear, was now shut tightly in pain. Guilt flooded her senses, it had been a long time since the blonde had truly hurt someone in a fight. Her hand released the sword, but it stayed lodged in the woman. 

She watched the curly haired woman sandwich the blade in her palms and pull it out, throwing it to the ground. Then she looked up, and Yellow saw burning hatred in her light brown eyes. Fear bubbled up in her chest, but the woman turned her fury on the witch, still screaming in front of her. 

“Mother.” The woman spoke calmly, her voice smooth. She took a step forward. 

“St-starlight!” White stuttered.

Yellow saw fear in the older woman’s eyes. 

“You locked me in there. How long did you keep me prisoner?” Glowering from behind curly bangs, Starlight’s voice began to rise, getting louder and louder.

“It was for your own good! Starlight, listen to me, we can just talk,” The witch’s hands were held up in defense, and she stepped backwards until she hit the rotting wood wall. 

“HOW LONG?” Starlight screamed and Yellow felt as if she was punched in the stomach. 

The blonde fell down, a cry of pain bursting from her lips. It echoed around the room, but it took Yellow a moment to realize that the other noises were coming from Connie and Blue. The two had also fallen back to the ground, Connie on her knees and Blue flat on her stomach. 

It startled the curly haired woman. Her gasp made Yellow’s head turn back to her. Yellow watched as she covered her mouth in horror. “I didn’t mean it! I’m so sorry!”

Starlight was talking, but Yellow wasn’t listening. She only saw Blue’s body behind her, trying to roll over, but was too weak. 

“Oh, but you’ve always been like this, Starlight. You’re a bad person, dearie, that’s why I locked you in there. You haven’t learned your lesson, it seems,” the witch said as Yellow crawled to the body. 

After a few agonizing seconds, Yellow reached Blue. “I’m here,” she whispered.

The body seemed to be lucid, and when she turned it over, cerulean eyes stared up at her. “Y-yellow?”

The blonde nearly cried in relief. “Did it work? Are you back?”

“Yes...but I-I…” Blue began before coughing overtook her body. Yellow’s heart stopped when she saw the blood coming out of Blue’s mouth. 

“Stay with me, okay? We’ll get you to a hospital, something!” the blonde said frantically, pulling Blue into her lap. “Connie! Call the emergency line, something!”

Connie opens her mouth to respond, but the witch cuts in. “She won’t make it. She’s nearly gone, a shame since my daughter’s attack loosened my grip on her body.”

Yellow looked down, as Blue’s hair turned to white and the skin under her eyes darkened. “No, Blue, you can’t die. You can’t! Azurea?”

Her frantic pleas went unheard. Blue began to speak, so whisper soft that the blonde had to bend down to hear her.

“I’m going to see Pink now…” another blood filled cough, “Yellow, I-I have to tell you…”

Tears began to stream down Yellow’s face, raining down in Blue’s soft white hair. Shaking hands slid through silver strands, and more tears came when Yellow realized that this might be her last chance to touch it. Her throat burned. “No, Blue, no you’re going to stay here. You’re going to be okay, you have to be. You have to be.”

“I...love you,” Blue whispered, her own eyes filling with tears. She coughed once more, and a weak hand raised to her throat. 

Yellow watched as the woman she loved began to asphyxiate. She watched numbly as Blue breathed her last breath. She watched until Blue’s feeble movements ceased and her world fell apart. 

She felt a hand on her shoulder, but she couldn’t look away from her love. “I’m sorry, Yellow,” Connie whispered to her. 

Tears began to cloud her vision, coming faster than they could fall. Yellow slumped down, leaning into her sister. “She’s gone.”

Connie put her arm around Yellow’s taut shoulder, placing her other hand on the still body below them. They cried. 

Above them, two women watched them mourn. 

“You have to help them. You can bring her back,” the curly haired woman said somberly, urgently. 

“Why would I do such a thing, Starlight?” White’s words drew all three pairs of eyes to her. 

“Please….” Yellow said, her voice lacking its usual strength. She looked brokenly at the witch. “I will pay the price. Just please....please bring her back.”

“No.” 

“I will, I’ll do anything,” Yellow protested, turning her red eyes to the witch’s daughter. 

“No,” Starlight repeated, “Mother, you need to save her. Without taking her lover’s body. Your cruelty has gone on far enough. Why do you think I ran away from you all those years ago, before you trapped me in that photograph?” 

White’s eyes narrowed as she glared at her daughter. “I did it because you’re too powerful for your own good. You hurt people.” 

Tears began to fall down, and Starlight seemed to deflate. “I didn’t mean to.”

But the witch only turned her head, walking behind the giant shelf. Her heels thudded dully on the soft wooden floorboards. 

Yellow’s heart broke with each muted step. Her last chance at saving Blue had vanished. Tears had completely obscured her vision, and she felt wetness leak from her nose. Sobs threatened to break out, but her throat was too tight, keeping them locked inside. _How could I have lost her? How could she be gone? I never...oh god._

“I never got to tell her that I love her,” Yellow sobbed, breaking down her last wall.

A hand began rubbing gentle circles on her back. “She knew,” Connie whispered to her. Yellow could hear the wavering in her sister’s voice. It wasn’t long until Connie choked out her own sobs. 

After what felt like an eternity, a third voice added to the sobbing. Yellow looked up. 

The witch’s daughter stood above them, tears streaming down her smooth face. Her brown eyes were squeezed shut in pain.

Yellow couldn’t summon enough energy to be angry at the woman who attacked them. She felt numb and all the muscles in her body turned to jelly. 

She let the precious body in her arms be taken from her, watching silently as Starlight took it from her limp arms. 

The woman kissed Blue’s forehead, in silent apology for the life taken from her. Her tears dotted the lovely pale face before she set the body back into her lover’s arms. 

“I’m sorry.”

Yellow heard the hushed words, but her mind couldn’t register them. She only leaned down, until their foreheads touched, wanting one last moment with her beautiful Blue. 

“Oh Blue, I miss you already,” she whispered, closing her eyes. 

Connie began to speak, warm words of comfort pouring out of her mouth. “She’s not suffering anymore. She’s not stuck in between worlds anymore, and she can see her sister again.”

The blonde turned to her sister, grateful for the reminder. “You’re right, she’s--”

“She’s breathing!!” Connie gasped out, cutting her off.

“What?” Yellow looked down, not daring to believe her eyes. 

Blue’s chest began to rise, and she stirred, coughing weakly. “Tears.”

“Tears?” Yellow asked frantically, looking around.

“Healing tears!” Connie exclaimed, pointing to the woman standing above them. 

“Oh my stars, I have healing tears,” she breathed, motioning for Yellow to give her Blue’s body. 

The blonde reluctantly agreed, worried that whatever miracle had just occurred would be shattered. 

Starlight cried. She cried tears of sadness and anger. And tears of relief. She cried until Blue’s body began to glow and she cried until Blue’s slender arms held her back. 

“You saved me.”

Yellow thought her heart would burst, hearing the lilting, gentle voice after she was certain it would never come again. 

“I’m sorry I hurt you,” Starlight murmured back, hugging the slender frame. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t fix your hair or your eyes.”

“It’s a small price to pay for another chance at life,” Blue said earnestly.

Starlight gave Blue once last squeeze. “I think you should go to your lover, she has something important to tell you.”

Blue’s eyes turned to Yellow, eyes that now glowed a cerulean blue. She was so beautiful, with her delicate features and her striking long, white hair. 

Resting a slender hand on Yellow’s shoulder, a giggle burst out of Blue’s full lips. “I can feel you,” she said, her voice sweet and shy.

Yellow, suddenly bashful, only stared back at her. She felt a slight nudge coming from her side. “I…”

When words failed her, she leaned in instead, willing her pounding heart to rest. She hesitated a fleeting second before pressing her lips against Blue’s. 

When Blue kissed back, lightning bolts flowed down her spine, her whole body tingled. She felt the smile on Blue’s face, and the happy flutter of heavy eyelashes against her cheek. They kissed until they ran out of air, gasping softly with their foreheads together. 

“Blue?” Yellow asked, shattering the quiet.

“Yes?” Azure eyes shone into hers. Amber eyes traveled from them, down past the dark bags, button nose, to the slender chin and back up. 

Finally, Yellow had the courage to open her heart and say what she had wanted to say for a long time. 

“I love you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will most likely be the last. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	17. Epilogue Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang travels home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, do y'all like flustered Yellow because I like flustered Yellow.

“I love you.”

The confession of love left the Blue stunned. Her eyes opened wide, and tears began streaming down. She wrapped her slender arms, around the blonde, squeezing her with a strength she hadn’t had in hundreds of years. “I love you, too,” she whispered. 

As the two embraced, and Connie made noises of endearment, they were interrupted by a low, dangerous voice. 

“Get out. Get out, right now.” A black tipped, skeletal hand waved at them from behind the giant shelf. 

“Let’s get out of here,” Connie whispered, grabbing the backpack she had dropped. She also picked up the still bloodied sword and handed to Yellow who grabbed it solidly. 

“But she killed Blue!” Yellow began to protest, before the white haired woman grabbed her by the wrist, pushing the weapon into its sheath. 

“And she can kill you, so let’s go,” hissed Blue. 

“She’s just mad that everyone is alright,” Starlight said, sticking out her tongue. She leaned over, her curly hair brushing the bottles on the shelves. “This time, you won’t find me.”

“I won’t be looking.” The voice was muffled, White didn’t bother moving from behind the case. 

The four women walked out, pushing open the rotting door. It had grown dark out, and crickets chirped all around them. 

“Thanks for rescuing me from that picture,” Starlight said once they had stepped outside. The rickety hut vanished without a sound. 

Yellow rubbed the back of her neck. “Yeah, I’m sorry for stabbing you in the shoulder.”

“You didn’t know any better. I suppose the world is still ignorant of magic?” Starlight’s gaze was distant. 

“No, in fact, this is the first encounter we’ve had with a witch!” Connie cut in, her eyes bright. “Actually, two witches! Would you mind answering a few questions?”

“Wait, where’s Blue?” Yellow suddenly stopped, squinting in the darkness. 

A pair of cerulean blue eyes popped up below them. Starlight raised a hand, summoning a glowing orb so that they could see. 

Blue, with a very guilty look on her face, sat in the thick grass, her hands splayed out in front of her. “I’m sorry, it’s just...been so long,” she murmured quietly, embarrassed. 

Starlight giggled, crouching down. “I like you, you’re lovely. I’m glad you get your happy ending. Blue, right?” 

“Yes, I’m very grateful. To all of you,” Blue said sincerely, pausing to look each person in the eyes. 

The curly haired woman nodded. “Well Blue, I want you to take this. If you or your friends ever need anything, just twist this and it’ll call me.” 

She handed Blue a small diamond shaped object. She mimed twisting it open, showing them how it worked.

“Thank you. It was very nice to meet you. What will you do now?” Blue asked, palming the cube. 

“I must find an old friend who was helping me before my mother found me,” Starlight responded, standing up.

“How will you go there? Do you have money or a bus pass?” Connie asked, stepping forward. 

Starlight chuckled. “I have magic. It’s sweet of you to worry, thought. But first, I’ll walk with you out of the forest, you’ll need my light to see.”

The group began to move once more, with Connie happily chatting with Starlight. Yellow and Blue fell into step behind them, hand in hand. 

“How do you like your body? Does it feel different?” Yellow asked, her voice hushed. 

“Truthfully, I don’t remember what it was like. But it is wonderful to have it again. I can’t thank you and Connie enough.” Blue’s eyes shone into Yellow’s. 

“Oh, it was nothing,” Yellow said gruffly, hoping the low light hid her blush. 

“No, you were very brave. Maybe one day you could teach me how to fight?”

A strong arm curled protectively around Blue’s slim shoulders. “If that’s what you want. You can come to work with me someday and I’ll give you a private lesson.”

Blue hummed. “I’d like that.”

They walked in silence for a moment, listening to the two women before them. Yellow smiled as Connie excitedly asked her questions, writing notes on a pad of paper she had apparently brought.

“Shall we stop at a convenience store before we go back to the hotel?” Yellow asked suddenly. “Are you hungry? We should also get you some clothes. I only brought enough for me.”

“I’m not feeling particularly hungry. But you don’t need to go through that trouble, I can sleep in my dress. I’ve been wearing it for centuries, one more night isn’t going to hurt,” Blue said wryly.

“Oh, yeah. Well, we can go shopping tomorrow. What clothes do you like to wear?” Yellow asked.

Blue tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Well, I don’t think any of what I wore when I had a body last would fit in very nicely now. But I am rather fond of these dresses I sometimes see Miss Walker wearing, although I do wish they were a bit darker in color. They’re long and simple, but pretty.”

As she talked, a slight shimmer surrounded her form, and a long, indigo dress with slight ruffles on the sleeves took place of her previous dress. She didn’t notice, only pausing as Yellow stared at her wide eyed. 

“Blue, are you a witch!?” she exclaimed loud enough to make Connie and Starlight to turn around. 

“You might have slight powers now, from being under my mother’s spell for so long. Or from my healing, I’m not sure,” Starlight said, looking surprised. “Do call me if you discover any other powers, this is quite fascinating.”

“Me too!” Connie chimed in, the researcher in her sparking a flame. 

Blue only nods, overwhelmed. She looks down at her new clothes, rolling a bit of the thick material between her fingers. 

“Well, here we are,” says Starlight as they step out from the thick brush of the forest. “Will you three be alright?”

They nod, and Blue drops her dress to place a hand on Starlight’s arm. “Thank you.”

“Of course. I thank you as well.” Starlight turns to each other them, smiling. “Let’s talk again soon.”

“Have a good evening!” the three chime in unison. Starlight chuckles, waving to them before disappearing with a poof. 

...

The three remaining women walk quickly to the motel in tired silence. Once they crowd into the room, Connie heads into the bathroom to get ready for bed and Yellow stiffly sits on one of the beds. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Blue’s gentle voice only causes Yellow to blush. “We only have two beds, should my sister sleep with me so you can have the other bed?” she asks gruffly.

A quiet giggle turns the blonde’s whole face red. “I would rather sleep with you,” Blue says, voice still soft. 

“Okay,” Yellow says, turning her head slightly.

The slender woman sits down next to her, so their shoulders are touching. They both silently enjoy the still new experience, leaning into each other ever so slightly. 

“I haven’t slept in centuries, it will surely be strange to be asleep. But, it might help to help if there’s a warm, comforting presence by my side.” Blue’s voice was light, almost teasing, but the look she was giving the blonde was anything but. 

Yellow’s eyes widened, but before she can speak, Connie reenters the room. She looks pointedly at the two, taking in Blue’s slightly smug smile and Yellow’s beet red cheeks. “You’ve really got her under your spell, Blue. Although I don’t think that power has anything to do with Starlight resurrecting you.”

“Connie!” Yellow yelps, rushing into the bathroom before the two could tease any more. 

“This is going to be so much fun, I haven’t seen her this flustered in a while,” Connie says to Blue with a grin. She climbs into the empty bed, turning to face the white haired woman.

“Yes, it’s quite adorable,” Blue says, her gaze on the closed door. 

Connie is silent for a moment. When she speaks again, her voice is serious. “You make her so happy.”

Blue looks at the dark haired woman with surprise, her cheeks beginning to flush. “Oh, I just…”

“I’m looking forward to you joining our little family,” Connie says, giving Blue a genuine smile. 

Yellow opens the bathroom door just in time to catch the first tear begin to fall from Blue’s eyes. 

“What did you say to her?” Yellow says, moving to join Blue on the bed. 

Connie laughs, waving an arm at her sister. “Oh, I was just telling Blue how glad I am that she’ll be in our lives.”

“Thank you, Con--” A huge yawn cuts her off. 

“I think it’s time to sleep now,” Yellow says gently. 

“Yeah, we all had a long day. We can talk more in the morning,” Connie agrees and rolls over, pulling the blankets over her. “Goodnight!”

“Goodnight,” echo Yellow and Blue as they both lay down. 

It’s a small bed, something that the two women had been trying to forget. As they tried to settle in for the night, they brush up against each other. Each touch is like an electric fire, and they mutter “sorry” over each other. 

After a few minutes, Connie sits up. “Yellow just spoon her for stars sake!” she exclaims. 

Both bodies stiffen, and Connie giggles. “Just a tip,” she says teasingly before laying down again. 

Yellow moved an arm slowly around Blue’s waist, holding her loosely. “Is this okay?”

Blue nodded silently, snuggling slightly closer. The warmth relaxed her, and a wave of exhaustion pulled her unconscious. 

Beside her, Yellow also relaxed, slipping into a blissed sleep. 

…

Upon waking up the next morning, the trio was feeling in high spirits, having accomplished their mission. They had a nice brunch at a local diner, where Connie and Yellow filled Blue in one life in the present. Their chatter filled up the nearly empty room, and peals of laughter echoed frequently around the room. 

As Blue excused herself to the bathroom before they left, Connie pressed two pieces of paper into Yellow’s hand. 

The blonde shot her a questioning look, before opening her hand. “I thought our bus tickets were for 8pm, not 12?”

“My ticket is for 8pm. I’m going to stick around and explore the city before heading back home,” Connie said with a smile.

“Why are ours a different time?” Yellow asked, still holding out her hand.

Connie laughed, causing Yellow to narrow her eyes. “I wanted you to have some time to show Blue around. If you come home at eleven, it’ll be too late.”

Yellow eyed Connie suspiciously. “And you had this planned from the beginning?”

That earned her another laugh. “Yes, I thought you might need a little push.”

“I don’t need a push! I’m perfectly capable of--” Yellow began before seeing Blue walk up to the table. She had changed her clothes again, so that she was wearing dark blue pants, with a long sleeved, flowy periwinkle top. “You look beautiful.”

Connie looked between the two, now both blushing. She decided, for once, not to tease them. Instead, she told Blue what their new plan was. “Blue, I was just telling Yellow that you two have bus tickets back to Yellow’s place at 12. Is that alright with you?”

Sliding into her seat, the white haired woman nodded. “Of course. And what of you?”

“I’ll leave a little later. I wanted to hang out here a while longer. But I’ll come visit you next week, or the week after that! And you can always call me, I’m sure you’ll get a phone soon.”

Blue smiles, opening her arms to give Connie a hug. “Thank you so much. Your research led us here, and your confidence was a much needed boost to our morale. I am very grateful.”

Hugging her back, Connie replied, “Aw, Blue. It was my pleasure. Plus, I got to meet two real life witches and ask one a bunch of questions. That was honestly really cool.”

Giving her one last squeeze, Blue moves away from Connie, tears in her eyes. “Thank you.”

Yellow stands, taking Blue’s hand. “Are you ready to go?” After Blue nods, she turns back to her sister. “I’ll send you a text when we get back. Enjoy your day, Cons. Thanks for your help.”

“You’re welcome. Bye you two!” She waves after them, before pulling out her notebook and a pencil. 

…

The bus ride back is tense. Without Connie’s presence, neither quite knew how to act. They had taken to sitting in silence, Blue sitting next to the window gazing out, and Yellow discreetly gazing at Blue. 

“Why don’t we go to a tea store?” Yellow’s voice cracked in the middle of her sentence. She cleared her throat before going on, “You mentioned you liked tea. Before.”

Turning to face the other woman, Blue smiled. “I’d like that. And you have to make me coffee.”

“Oh, why didn’t you order any with breakfast? You could have had a sip of mine,” Yellow said, shaking her head.

“I wanted yours to be the first one I tried. You said it was very good,” Blue said quietly.

Yellow flushed. “I was kind of joking about that. I mean, I make alright coffee, but it’s really nothing special.”

“It will be special because you made it for me.” Blue’s eyes glowed a bit brighter. 

“Oh.” Was all Yellow could say, her mind suddenly blank. She felt her cheeks grow darker, and ducked her head slightly. 

They fell back into silence for a few minutes. Yellow tried to come up with something to say, but something about the way the white haired woman looked at her made all her thoughts fly from her mind. 

The bus entered a long tunnel, and Yellow was grateful for the darkness. She felt the heat begin to recede from her face, and turned back to Blue, ready to ask her a question. 

She was very surprised to see tears streaming down Blue’s face. “What’s wrong?” she gasped.

Blue only frowned, still looking out the window. Yellow could see her reflection in the darkness, and she tried to meet the two glowing azure eyes.

“Blue?” she tried again, placing a gentle hand on Blue’s twisted hands in her lap.

The hands twisted harder underneath hers. “I look hideous.” 

“What?” Yellow frowned, trying to piece together what about the stunning figure in front of her was anything but beautiful.

Finally, Blue turned towards her, the light from her eyes accentuating the bags underneath them. “My eyes,” she choked out, her face crumpling.

“Hey no,” Yellow said, moving her hand to stroke Blue’s cheek. It was soft, softer than anything she’d ever felt before. “They’re radiant, not hideous.”

“People will stare, they’ll notice!” 

“I’ll fight them!” Yellow says loudly, startling even herself. She lowers her voice, “And their opinions aren’t worth anything.”

“Still.” Blue looks down, at her hands. Silken locks of hair fall down in front of her face, obscuring it from view. 

“We can get you some contacts. Then no one will notice your eyes, and you can make them any color you want. I’ve always wanted to try them.” 

When Blue doesn’t respond, Yellow takes a deep breath for strength, and reaches her hand out. She slips her fingers between soft strands and pushes them behind Blue’s ears. Blue looks up at her in surprise.

“You’re beautiful. I never want to stop looking at you.”

The sincerity in Yellow’s voice makes Blue blush, much to Yellow’s delight. She watches Blue’s pale face color, pink hues slowly branching across her cheeks like spilt ink. 

“Do you really mean that?” Blue asks shyly. 

“Of course. I thought you were beautiful from the moment I saw you. And now, that we’re both here and you have a body, I just want to be with you.” 

“I want to be with you, too,” Blue breathes and Yellow feels herself leaning in. Their lips press together, taking a moment before deepening the kiss. 

A cough behind them makes them jerk apart, both red faced. “Let’s discuss this more when we’re in the privacy of my apartment.”

Blue gives her a bright smile. “Yes, let’s.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! The next chapter will be the final one for this story. I couldn't fit everything I wanted to cover in one chapter, so I split it up into two.


	18. Epilogue Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of a happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, this is it! The last chapter. I hope you enjoy!

The rest of the ride back to Yellow’s apartment was much more relaxed, and the two seemed to have found their rhythm with one another. They talked and made plans, just like they used to. 

Once getting off the bus, the two walked into the small downtown area, looking for the tea store. They walked past windows with bright displays in them, Blue’s eyes flicking from one item to the next. 

Yellow nudges her, while she had been looking at one of the displays for a particularly long time. “Do you want anything? I can buy it for you.”

Tearing her eyes from the pretty things, Blue looks at Yellow. “Oh no, I just think they look so lovely. All these beautiful things, and I had no idea they even existed!”

Hooking her arm around Blue’s sleeved one, Yellow leads her into the next store. The first thing that hits them is the herbal scent, wafting into their noses. 

In contrast to the coldness outside, the whole store seemed warm. Steam curled from little sample cups placed on trays in various parts of the store, and cozy mugs and kettles were displayed. 

Blue’s eyes went wide, and she nearly skipped up to one of them. “Look, Yellow! Look how beautiful this is!”

Following at a slower speed, Yellow glanced at the cup in Blue’s hand. “Very pretty,” she replied, curling an arm around Blue’s waist.

A cheery voice interrupted them. “Would you like to try our featured tea of the day? It’s a spiced vanilla black tea.” 

The couple looked at the woman, dressed in a red apron carrying a silver tray. She held out a small paper cup. Blue took it, giving her a small smile and took a sip.

“Oh, this is delightful! I’ve never tasted anything so exquisite,” she said happily. 

Yellow took a cup, peering into it briefly before downing it in one go. She tried not to grimace, and said nothing. 

The saleswoman gave them one last bright smile before walking away. “You can pick some up near the counter there!”

“Did you like it?” Blue asked, her eyes searching. In the fluorescent light of the store, her eyes barely glowed, only shone a deep cerulean blue. 

“It was alright,” Yellow said, not wanting to speak negatively of something that Blue so clearly liked. 

But Blue saw right through her and laughed lightly. She touched a hand to Yellow’s arm. “It’s okay if you don’t like it. I know you prefer coffee.”

Yellow gave her an embarrassed smile. 

The two perused the rest of the store, Blue taking a sample of each tea they had on display, and Yellow following her around, listening to her talk. 

“This one, it really does taste like sunshine!” Blue says after trying a citrus tea called “Sunshine”. Yellow nods encouragingly. 

“And that one over there, it tastes like a warm embrace,” Blue comments after trying an Earl Grey tea. 

“Oh, this is wonderful, just like roses!” 

“But the one with the yellow package, I think it’s my favorite, because it reminds me of you. It’s strong and spicy, but gentle at the end.” Yellow takes a sip of this one.

Finally, they completed their circle around the store, and Blue holds a stack of a dozen empty paper cups in her hand. 

“Do you want to buy any of them?” Yellow asked as they inspect the tea kettles at the back of the store. 

“Well, I am rather fond of the one called “Earl Grey’. Would it be alright if we bought some?” Blue said, unsure.

“Of course! I want you to have things you like in our apartment,” Yellow said, moving to grab a box of the tea. She quickly walked through the store, finding what she needed, and going to stand in line. She reached out to grab Blue’s hand, her hand grabbing air. 

Yellow looked around, finding herself alone. “Blue?”

Small sniffling noises draw her attention behind a large display. The blonde moves out of the line, stepping around the obstruction to find Blue with her arms wrapped around herself. Her head was bowed, and her shoulders were shaking slightly.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Yellow’s voice was as soft as she could make it, and she placed a warm hand on shaking shoulders. Blue leans into the touch, turning her head to bury into Yellow’s chest. 

“Our apartment…” Blue mumbled, her voice muffled.

“Um,” Yellow said, her voice a bit too loud in her confusion. 

“Can I help--oh, sorry!” the cheery saleswoman said, stopping suddenly when she took in the scene. 

Yellow nodded, pulling Blue closer against her. The woman quickly left, but the interruption had given Yellow enough time to process what had gone wrong. 

“You don’t have to live with me, of course. I can help you find somewhere else to live, as soon as we get to my laptop,” Yellow said soothingly. 

A tear stained face jerked up to look at her. “N-no! I want to live with you!” The fear in those cobalt eyes squeezed Yellow’s heart, and she laid a kiss on the crying woman’s cheek. 

“I want you to live with me,” she assured her.

Blue sniffed, looking at the ground. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you said ‘our’ apartment and...how are you so willing to let me in your life like this? I don’t deserve this. You.” 

Yellow paused, thinking about how to respond. She slipped a few fingers into Blue’s soft hair, stroking her head errantly. “I’ve been calling it ‘our apartment’ in my head for a few weeks already,” she admitted at last. 

“What?” Blue looks back at her in surprise. Her tears had stopped falling, but her cheeks still glistened in hard lighting. 

Rubbing the back to her neck with her free hand, Yellow begins to blush. “Well, you were always there, and I started to look forward to you being there when I got home. I was honestly a little afraid that you’d leave.”

“No!” Blue gasped, gripping the blonde tightly. “I want to stay with you.”

Yellow laughed lightly, extracting herself from the embrace. “Then why don’t we finish up our shopping and then we can head back to our apartment. We still need to get you a pillow and a blanket.”

“Okay,” Blue agreed, stealing one of Yellow’s hands to hold. 

The two women walked up to pay for the tea, heading to a home furnishing store. There, Yellow wanted to buy the biggest, fluffiest pillow for Blue, but the white haired woman insisted that Yellow’s chest was much better than any fancy pillow. They settled on a medium sized one and a thick duvet.

It was when they arrived home that they truly found their rhythm. After Blue had touched everything in the apartment with childlike wonder, and Yellow cooked a plain dinner, the two cuddled in front of the TV. It was an experience, so new and profound, but so familiar and similar that both women knew that this was how they wanted their life to be. Together. 

That was their new mantra, their new purpose. They completed each other. 

And everyone who met them thought the same. 

...

Blue eventually met Jasper and Pearl, who after some hesitance, came to understand that she was part of their lives too. There was no denying how much happier the blonde seemed now that she had Blue.

And Blue was happy, as well. After Yellow left for work on the first day, Blue set her mind on finding a job. She quickly found a part time position at the local library, which suited her just fine. Eventually, after taking night courses for a few years and some help from Connie, she became a history professor at a local community college. 

Yellow’s mixed martial arts studio flourished, and she had to hire additional teachers to help her teach when her classes got too full. After a few temporary instructors failed, she convinced Jasper to finally step away from illegal fighting to help her. The move was initially hard for Pearl, having lost her two closest friends to another city, but soon after, she was contacted by an international modeling agency, and travelled frequently for photoshoots. 

Connie surprised no one when she announced her position as head researcher at a prestigious university. It was nearby, and she when she wasn’t fervently working, she spent weekends at Yellow’s apartment to chat with her sister and Blue. They were often joined by Starlight, who always brought them exotic magical gifts from around the world. 

They never saw the witch again, something that weighed heavily on Blue and Yellow’s minds. Blue, with her compassion, lamented that it would be lonely to live all alone for so long. Yellow, with her fury, assured her that it was what the old woman wanted, and more importantly deserved. 

But Blue bore the scars of her time under the witch and her resurrection, so she thought of the skeletal, grey woman often. Maybe one day she could convince Starlight to tell her more of her mother. And maybe, if she were brave enough, could persuade her to send a postcard. 

Because Blue got her happy ending. By taking her body, and trapping her as a spirit for hundreds of years, she had the opportunity to meet a feisty, but shy blonde. And for that, Blue held only gratitude for the witch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! If you've been here from the start or if you just found this, thank you! The support and kudos means a lot to me. I hope you enjoyed my first AU, I certainly enjoyed writing it.
> 
> There is a new AU (featuring a dragon Yellow) coming soon, so look out for that if you want!


End file.
